The Dictatorship

How the White House Rose Garden and its plantings have changed over the past century

Published

1 hour ago

July 6, 2026

How the White House Rose Garden and its plantings have changed over the past century

President Donald Trump’s two makeovers of the White House Rose Garden, including converting its lawn into a patiohave drawn recent attention to one of the nation’s most iconic gardens.

The garden has seen many changes over the years; presidents and first ladies have planted, removed, redesigned and even fully revamped it. Here’s a look at how the Rose Garden and its plantings have evolved.

Ellen Wilson and then Jackie Kennedy make changes

This undated image provided by the Library of Congress shows the original White House rose garden in Washington, designed by George E. Burnap in 1913 and planted in 1914 during the Woodrow Wilson administration. (Library of Congress via AP)

The Rose Garden was established by President Woodrow Wilson’s wife, Ellen Wilson, who worked closely with landscape architect George Burnap, in 1913. It replaced Edith Roosevelt’s Colonial Garden, planted 11 years earlier. Before that, greenhouses occupied the space.

The original Rose Garden remained close to its roots for nearly half a century until 1961, when President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy brought in their friend and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, neighbor, Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, to oversee a redesign.

Mellon, a horticulture expert, worked closely with landscape architect Perry Wheeler and White House Head Gardener Irwin Williams on plans for the new Rose Garden, aiming to create an outdoor room where press conferences, meetings with dignitaries and ceremonies could be held. It was installed the following year.

The space included an expansive central lawn, inspired by the croquet-match passage in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” with magnolia trees planted at each corner. Roses, interplanted with culinary herbs, spring-blooming bulbs, seasonal annuals and young Katherine crabapple trees, flanked the lawn in 12-foot-deep borders.

Since then, the space has hosted many historic events and has become known as a place where presidents deliver important speeches to the American people.

The garden evolves with new plants

Flowers bloom in the rose garden of the White House in Washington on April 19, 1963. (AP Photo/JR)

Mellon’s style favored classic, muted tones, reflected in the roses she selected. But the crabapples turned out to be a misstep. As they matured, they became so large that they shaded the sun-loving roses they were intended to complement.

In 2003, some of those trees were removed to allow sunlight to reach the failing roses. Over the years, various perennials were added and replaced. Dying roses were removed, and the remaining trees continued to grow.

Boxwood shrubs bordering the beds became threatened by boxwood blight disease, and the lawn developed drainage issues that prompted frequent replacements.

The remaining trees’ roots had grown so large that it became difficult to plant annuals in the borders without disturbing them. In addition, as walkway repairs became necessary, portions had been replaced, piecemeal, with various slabs.

A 2020 restoration brings new roses and various upgrades

Marine One, with President Barack Obama aboard, is framed by flowers in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, on April 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Then in 2020, first lady Melania Trump commissioned two architectural firms, Perry Guillot, Inc., of Southampton, New York, and Oehme van Sweden & Associates of Washington, D.C., to work with the Committee for the Preservation of the White House and the National Park Service to address those concerns and return the garden to its 1962 aesthetic.

They removed and relocated the remaining crabapple trees, and replaced the dwindling plantings with pastel-colored roses, including the white, tall shrubby “White House Rose,” the cream-colored “JFK Rose,” the white hybrid tea rose “Pope John Paul II,” and the “Peace Rose,” a smaller tea rose with a pale yellow center and light pink edges.

The team also upgraded the garden’s infrastructure, adding electricity for TV appearances and uniform, 36-inch-wide limestone walkways to accommodate wheelchair access and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The shrubs were replaced with blight-resistant NewGen boxwoods.

Pavers replace the grass

President Donald Trump, far right, joins a luncheon on the patio in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

In 2025, President Trump revamped the space again, this time replacing the central lawn with a white limestone patio. He added solar-powered lighting, tables and umbrellas, and bronze statues of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton.

He has hosted dinners on the patio, and has called the space the Rose Garden Club.

And on the perimeter, the roses continue to bloom.

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Jessica Damiano writes regular gardening columns for The Associated Press. She publishes the Weekly Dirt Newsletter. Sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

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For more AP gardening stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.

The Dictatorship

PHOTOS…

Published

1 hour ago

July 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

President Donald Trump commemorated the 250th anniversary of America’s independence after storms prompted a roughly two-hour evacuation of the National Mall, with severe weather disrupting celebrations in several East Coast cities. People in cities including Chicago and New York celebrated with fireworks and music.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

People sing the National Anthem at Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) — People sing the National Anthem at Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at the Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) — President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at the Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks during Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) — President Donald Trump speaks during Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

People watch fireworks at Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, early Sunday, July 5, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) — People watch fireworks at Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, early Sunday, July 5, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Attendees outside the National Mall following a weather delay announcement at the National mall during an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert) — Attendees outside the National Mall following a weather delay announcement at the National mall during an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

People watch fireworks at Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Sunday, July 5, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) — People watch fireworks at Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Sunday, July 5, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

People arrive after severe weather caused a delay in the Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) — People arrive after severe weather caused a delay in the Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

A bolt of lighting strikes as fireworks are set off of the Brooklyn Bridge, as seen from Bayonne, N.J., Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

People arrive for a Salute to America Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) — People arrive for a Salute to America Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The Salute to America stage is empty after the area was evacuated because of incoming storms at the Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) — The Salute to America stage is empty after the area was evacuated because of incoming storms at the Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

An attendee asks questions to U.S. Park Police officers as they evacuate attendees due to severe weather during a Salute to America Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) — An attendee asks questions to U.S. Park Police officers as they evacuate attendees due to severe weather during a Salute to America Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

People look on during an Independence Day parade Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Coronado, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Tall ships parade under flyovers during the International Parade of Sail, part of Sail250, a gathering of tall ships and military ships, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Military personnel salute from the flight deck of the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) in the New York harbor during The International Naval Review, ahead of Sail250, a gathering of tall ships and military ships honoring America's 250th Anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) — Military personnel salute from the flight deck of the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) in the New York harbor during The International Naval Review, ahead of Sail250, a gathering of tall ships and military ships honoring America’s 250th Anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New U.S. citizen and twice-deployed U.S. Marine Sgt. Diakaria Sangare, from Guinea, poses for a portrait following the naturalization ceremony on Independence Day at George Washington's Mount Vernon, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) — New U.S. citizen and twice-deployed U.S. Marine Sgt. Diakaria Sangare, from Guinea, poses for a portrait following the naturalization ceremony on Independence Day at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

A New York Fire Department vessel sprays its water cannons in the New York harbor during ahead of Sail250, a gathering of tall ships and military ships honoring America's 250th Anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) — A New York Fire Department vessel sprays its water cannons in the New York harbor during ahead of Sail250, a gathering of tall ships and military ships honoring America’s 250th Anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

A participant wearing a period dress draped in a U.S. flag attends the annual Festa Americana, where descendants of American immigrants in Brazil celebrate their U.S. heritage and mark Independence Day, in Santa Barbara d'Oeste, Brazil, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini) — A participant wearing a period dress draped in a U.S. flag attends the annual Festa Americana, where descendants of American immigrants in Brazil celebrate their U.S. heritage and mark Independence Day, in Santa Barbara d’Oeste, Brazil, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)

Members of the Young Marines stand at attention before an Independence Day parade Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Coronado, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

People participate in a Limbo contest as they wait for the National Mall to reopen after being evacuated due to weather during Independence Day events honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) — People participate in a Limbo contest as they wait for the National Mall to reopen after being evacuated due to weather during Independence Day events honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

People raise their hats while dancing during celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, July 4, 2026.(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

The Mother Ukraine Monument is illuminated in the colors of the U.S. flag in honor of the American 250th Independence Day, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Children line up to watch an Independence Day parade, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Deforest, Wis. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

Joey Chestnut wins the 2026 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Anna Connors) — Joey Chestnut wins the 2026 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Anna Connors)

People watch as a truck blows red, white and blue confetti during an Independence Day parade, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Deforest, Wis. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks past a projection of the American flag on the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, July 5, 2026, displayed in honor of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) — An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks past a projection of the American flag on the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, Sunday, July 5, 2026, displayed in honor of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Guests dressed in American flag-themed clothes attend Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) — Guests dressed in American flag-themed clothes attend Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Fireworks over the National Mall during an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert) — Fireworks over the National Mall during an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Runners draped in American flags participate in a run on Independence Day in Huntington Beach, Calif., Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The Dictatorship

ICE arrest of nun adds to clashes between Team Trump and the faith community

Published

5 hours ago

July 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

ICE arrest of nun adds to clashes between Team Trump and the faith community

A few months into Donald Trump’s second term, the president’s administration launched a task force that would, according to the Republican White House, eradicate “anti-Christian bias” within the federal government. At a launch event in April 2025, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi began by attacking Joe Biden, who Bondi said had “abused and targeted Christians.”

The slander was baseless. And a year later, when the task force tried to bolster its accusations with a lengthy written report, the allegations against the former president and his Democratic administration largely fell apart.

But more than a year after Team Trump started making a concerted effort to convince Americans that Joe Biden and his White House “abused and targeted Christians,” it’s the incumbent president and his administration that continue to clash with the faith community — up to and including a recent arrest of a nun. MS NOW reported:

The arrest of a Catholic nun from Nigeria by federal immigration officers in southern Texas [last week] made for an unlikely alliance on Capitol Hill as lawmakers from both parties demanded her release and asked the question: Why aren’t border officials focused on real threats to public safety?

Sister Leticia “Letty” Ugboaja, 56, was walking the block between her home and the Catholic Church where she attends Sunday Mass in McAllen, Texas, when she was stopped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The agents arrested her, taking her rosary, and brought her to a nearby detention facility.

For all of the president’s and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s chest-thumping about Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers targeting the “worst of the worst,” Ugboaja is a nun. She was wearing her habit and walking down a public sidewalk en route to Sunday Mass when she was hauled off.

The idea that she somehow represented a threat to public safety in Texas is plainly insane.

Fortunately, Ugboaja was ultimately released from federal detention after a backlash from members of Congress, but this was hardly a rare clash between the Republican administration and the faith community. In fact, this incident comes on the heels of Team Trump suing a Catholic diocese in New Mexico in order to seize 14 acres of land for additional border barriers.

There have been related controversies surrounding the Pentagon’s list of officially recognized religionsTrump picking fights with Pope Leo XIV, the administration stripping funding from Catholic charities, and instances in which federal agents have shot faith leaders with pepper balls.

If these developments unfolded during a Democratic administration, is there any doubt that Republicans and conservative media outlets would launch hysterical campaigns about the “Democratic war on religion”?

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”

The Dictatorship

Trump’s financial disclosure shows his corruption hitting a new low

Published

5 hours ago

July 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Christmas. 6, 2026, 10:50 AM EDT

ByRichard W. Painter,Norman IronsandVirginia Canter

As former White House ethics lawyers who served administrations of both parties, we upheld a clear bipartisan norm: Presidents and senior officials must avoid even the appearance that their official power is entangled with personal gain. Presidents and senior officials were expected to divest conflicting assets, use blind trusts or hold broadly diversified funds — all to avoid the mingling of their public office and their private interests.

President Donald Trump has shattered that principle. His most recent financial disclosure reveals an extraordinary $2.2 billion in gains during his first year in office. The sheer scale of the sums — $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency alone — is unparalleled. The issue is not simply how much money Trump made or that he made it at all; it is that the money comes from industries his administration regulates, foreign relationships his administration oversees and markets that can rise or fall based on the policies, enforcement decisions, diplomatic relationships and public signals of the office he holds.

Unlike Trump, most Americans cannot afford to hedge their bets through the buying and selling of oil company stocks.

Not surprisingly, the White House says there are no conflicts of interest, and Trump himself claims that an independent firm handles his investments. But the truth is that Trump is financially capitalizing on the presidency in a way never before seen in American history.

The clearest example is cryptocurrency, where his personal financial interests overlap with his administration’s regulatory decisions, market signals and foreign relationships. Since returning to office, Trump’s administration has moved toward a more permissive approach to digital assets. Meanwhile, Trump and his family maintain significant financial interests in that industry. His administration has promoted the United States as a crypto hub, supported new stablecoin rules and moved away from aggressive enforcement against major crypto firms. Through regulation, enforcement decisions, stablecoin policy and public signals from the White House, the president can influence the rules and market confidence around assets from which he personally benefits.

Woefully inadequate regulation means he is leaving American investors exposed to crypto scams and a market of volatile speculative assets that can collapse as quickly as they surge. Trump’s own meme coin shows the danger. The president can benefit from the attention and trading activity generated by his name while retail investors are left exposed when the price falls. The official Trump meme coin ($TRUMP) is down 97.7% from its all-time high; according to one analysisalmost a million investors have lost a combined $3.8 billion on the coin. Meanwhile, Trump banked $636 million in revenue from the venture.

The foreign conflicts are just as alarming. The shadowy nature of crypto transactions makes it difficult to understand all that is happening behind the scenes. But what we are seeing is shocking enough. To pick but one example: In early 2025, World Liberty Financial, a Trump family-backed crypto venture, issued USD1, its stablecoin pegged to the dollar. Within weeks, the United Arab Emirates-owned investment fund MGX used USD1 in connection with a $2 billion investment in crypto company Binance. (The Trump family World Liberty and Binance deny wrongdoing.) Stablecoins can generate income through the reserves that back them, meaning wider use of USD1 may benefit World Liberty.

In other words, a foreign power — a key player in an unpopular and expensive war with Iran that Trump began without the consent of Congress — is financing a business venture that is partly owned by the president and his family. Ordinary Americans pay for this war with sky-high gas prices. Unlike Trump, most Americans cannot afford to hedge their bets through the buying and selling of oil company stocks.

Congress has both the power and responsibility to act.

No president ever has had these kinds of business dealings, let alone with foreign governments, since our nation’s founding. In fact, the founders included a clause prohibiting foreign emoluments in our original Constitution specifically to prevent this type of corruption. During Trump’s first term, we and others warned that these protections exist because financial dependence can distort judgment, compromise foreign policy and entangle the nation in decisions made for private benefit.

Congress has both the power and responsibility to act. It can pass legislation barring presidents, vice presidents, senior officials and members of Congress from trading individual stocks, holding cryptocurrency interests that overlap with official duties, or maintaining business arrangements that create conflicts while they serve. It can require meaningful divestiture, the creation of blind trusts and enforceable stricter disclosure rules.

Legislators also have the power to investigate Trump’s existing financial arrangements. They can examine the president’s crypto earnings, foreign-linked transactions, stock trades and other business interests to determine who paid, who benefited and whether official policy was affected.

Congress must use both its lawmaking and investigative powers. That will certainly happen if the president’s party loses one or both chambers in the midterm elections this fall. But it should not wait. The president’s allies may fear his political power, his threats of primary challenges and the campaign money he can help steer against them. But their constitutional duty is to protect the presidency from corruption and the public from the abuse of power.

Americans should not have to wonder whether consumer protections are weakened because the president profits from crypto, whether foreign policy is shaped by foreign-linked business deals or whether law enforcement decisions (such as pardoning the founder of a firm involved in that UAE deal) are influenced by the president’s private balance sheet.

The presidency is not supposed to be a profit center. Congress should stop treating Trump’s corruption as a political inconvenience and start treating it as a constitutional crisis.

Richard W. Painter

Richard W. Painter was the chief White House ethics lawyer from 2005 to 2007 under President George W. Bush. He is the S. Walter Richey Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Minnesota and is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School.

Norman Irons

Norman Eisen is a co-founder and board member of Democracy Defenders Action and publisher of The Contrarian. Eisen previously served as a U.S. ambassador and in senior White House and congressional staff roles.

Virginia Canter

Virginia Canter is chief anticorruption counsel for Democracy Defenders Fund and former chief ethics counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).