Since returning to the White House in January, President Trump has been on a mission to renovate — including an overhaul of the iconic Rose Garden, where work is nearly complete.
Trump has swapped out the grass in the Rose Garden with stone, turning what had been a lawn into a patio. And it's a patio that bears a striking resemblance to a popular feature at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.
By Trump's telling, getting rid of the grass was a necessity, because it got too soggy for fine footwear.
"You see the women?" Trump said in a February interview with The Spectator magazine. "The grass was wet. Their heels are going through the grass, like, four inches deep."
Wearers of stilettos need not worry about sinking anymore. The $1.9 million project replaced the lawn with paving stones, laid on the diagonal. New drainage systems installed around the perimeter are covered with white grates with a Stars and Stripes motif.
"It's a stone that's the same color as the White House itself. And because it's very white it's going to reflect the heat. It's not going to be very hot, like if you had a dark stone," Trump explained recently.
The project is the latest modification Trump has made to the White House. The Oval Office is now thoroughly gilded, and he has plans to build a new $200 million ballroom.
The Kennedys revamped the Rose Garden
The Rose Garden, with the large lawn in the center, edged by flower beds, dates back to the Kennedy administration. Before that it had been more of a basic garden and less of an events space.
"President Kennedy wanted an outdoor room," said Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association. "He wanted a space where you could have outdoor meetings, receptions, events."
President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy worked with their friend and noted gardener Rachel Lambert "Bunny" Mellon to revamp the garden. That design included large magnolia trees and dozens of rose bushes.
Over the decades, the roses had suffered from a lack of sunlight and poor drainage, according to the Trust for the National Mall, a philanthropy. Only 12 of the original rose bushes remained in 2020 when first lady Melania Trump oversaw a major restoration project meant to return it to the Kennedy/Mellon vision.
Funded by private donations to the Trust, the first lady added 200 new roses and formal boxwood parterre borders with perennial and annual plantings. Critics said a new stone border around the edge was too stark. But as the plants have matured, the garden is once again vibrant.
A space for press conferences and signing ceremonies
Over the years, the Rose Garden has hosted countless press conferences and signing ceremonies. During Trump's first term, it even served as a backdrop for a photo op when Frank Giaccio, 11, set his sights on mowing the lawn at the White House, and Trump made his dream come true. The images went viral.
While the lawn is now gone, the flowers aren't going anywhere. Only the grass was removed. The cost of this work is also being covered by private donations to the Trust for the National Mall. This time, it was Trump — not the first lady — who was the driving force.
Earlier this week, music blasted from the White House as Trump tested out a new speaker system for the patio. Trump can play DJ from his iPad, just like he does at Mar-a-Lago. The Rose Garden also features patio tables with yellow-and-white striped umbrellas, a perfect match to the space at Mar-a-Lago known as the Beach Club.
Beautiful Friday at the White House!
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) August 22, 2025
President @realDonaldTrump is playing “Let It Be” on the speakers 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ir06l7Hj6c
McLaurin acknowledged this change may be jarring. But he said many changes at the White House that were controversial at first later became viewed as essential features of the People's House, including the West Wing, the Colonnade, the North and South Porticos.
"It's not frozen in time," said McLaurin. "It evolves and it changes. And different presidents and first ladies have different ideas."
Copyright 2025 NPR
