Presidential Roses

We're celebrating Presidents' Day in the U.S today and I was poking around for some information on the White House Rose Garden. We hear about it all the time, but it always seems to be treated as a backdrop for briefings, not a pleasure garden. It was First Lady Ellen Wilson who was responsible for the creation of the Rose Garden. The current layout is based on a redesign undertaken during President Kennedy's administration and, sure enough, he envisioned a space for hosting events. Rachel Lambert Mellon was charged with devising a more formal layout. The current Rose Garden is a central lawn bordered by flower beds planted predominantly with American plants. Although there is a structure of trees and boxwood and thyme hedges, the garden is filled with seasonal color and, of course, a good many roses

It seems odd that there aren't more roses named for Presidents. There's a Mister Lincoln rose, one of the most popular fragrant hybrid tea roses ever introduced. President Kennedy was honored with a petal perfect white rose. Other than these two, I don't know of any more presidential roses, do you? First Ladies Pat Nixon and both Barbara and Laura Bush have namesake roses. And I believe there used to be an Eleanor Roosevelt rose, but I can't find it listed anywhere. We've got the perfect venue for memorializing our Presidents. I wish there were more Presidential roses.

• Photos of the White House Rose Garden
• The White House Gardens
• Top Hybrid Tea Roses
• Tips for Growing Hybrid Tea Roses

Photo: Getty Images News / Mark Wilson