The Rose Garden
An Outdoor Stage
The White House Historical Association
About This Exhibit
Walk through this representation of the Rose Garden, snap a picture in front of the garden mural, and experience what it’s like to be welcomed on the South Lawn for a ceremony.
Behind the History
A Garden for the President
Formerly known as the West Gardens, this space at the White House was used to grow vegetables, to house stables and a greenhouse, and even as a site to dry laundry. After the construction of the West Wing in 1902, First Lady Edith Roosevelt added a colonial-style garden outside the president's office along the West Colonnade.
Less than a decade later, the space was transformed by First Lady Ellen Wilson, who desired a more modern, formal garden. For the next several decades, the West Garden was primarily a private space for the first family.