Women Who Shaped Garden History
Rachel Lambert Mellon, known as Bunny, was a horticulturalist, garden designer, and philanthropist whose most famous project was the redesign of the White House Rose Garden for President Kennedy in 1962.
Mellon was born into a prominent family (her grandfather founded the Listerine company) and married into one of America's wealthiest dynasties. She used her resources to support horticultural institutions, collect rare garden books, and create gardens at her estates in Virginia, Cape Cod, Antigua, and Paris.
In 1961, President Kennedy asked Mellon to redesign the White House Rose Garden. She created a classic design with rectangular flower beds, a lawn panel, and magnolia trees that provided both beauty and a practical setting for outdoor ceremonies. The garden has been used for presidential events ever since and remains one of her most visible legacies.
Mellon was a major donor to horticultural and botanical causes, supporting the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, which preserves her rare book collection and gardens in Upperville, Virginia. The foundation continues her work of promoting the study of plants, gardens, and landscape.