Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-04-25
WHITE HOUSE GARDENS
DESCRIBED BY HASKIN
Daily Letter by Frederic j.. Haskin

WASHINGTON, April 22.-The
formal little gardens close to the
south portico of the White House
are known as the gardens of the
Presidents wife.
The First Lady of the Land is al
ways consulted as to the garden
ing plans for the entire White House
grounds, but these w gardens have
been the especial care of the wives
of presidents ever since Mrs. Roose-
welt had them laid out. 1t is be-
coming a custom for each presidents
wife to give full expression to her
taste in flowers and landscape gar
dening in these plots.
The gardens are the more per-
sonal to the mistress of the White
House because the public is not al
lowed to enter them. The grounds
back of the executive mansion are
thrown open to the public every Sat-
urday afternoon during the summer.
when the Marine Band gives a con-
cert. People wander freely about
the Presidents broad lawn and park
! and sit or the grass under the trees.
On Easter Monday, too. the
grounds are open, this time to the
children for the annual egg rolling.
Forty men are put to work after
this celebration is over, to clean h
grass of egg shells. papers. mangled
toy rabbits. remnants of lunch and
other souvenirs of an exciting day.
From these occasions the public
is pretty we'll acquainted with the
White House lawn. But the gardens,
close TO the house and bound by
high hedges. are not open. They
would scarcely survive the inspec-
ton of a few thousand people in an
afternoon.
The gardens now are as Mrs. Will
| son left them. Mrs. Harding has
found time to put bird houses about
the White House grounds and to
plant a number of trees-only a
short time ago she planted a mag
nolia. But she has ordered no i'm
portant changes in the private gar
dens as yet.
First Signs of Life
Just now, the gardens are begin
ming to show signs of life. White
narcissuses. pansies and pale tinted
flags are out, and a profusion of buds
promises a wonderful array of color
in a few weeks.
Originally. Mrs. Roosevelt planned
the two plots as colonial gardens
and they were laid out with curving
yalks and ~variously shaped flower
beds filed with roses and hardy
~perennials.
The first Mrs. Wilson is remem-
bered as one of the most ardent
| flower lovers who ever lived in the
| White House. When she was con-
suited as to changes in the gardens
| she expressed a desire to have the
two plots different in character. She
had always taken a great interest IN
the grounds of her home, and she
had skilled landscape gardeners
work on the plans for the gardens
as she wished them to be.
Mrs. Wilson did not live to see
the remodeled gardens completed.
However, up to a short time before
her death she liked to sit among
the flowers.
The gardens now are as Mrs. VIII
son planned them. Both are long
rather narrow plots of ground, small
only in comparison 10 the spacious
ness of the White House lawns. The
east garden is laid out with a wide
/ border of flowers around the edge In
side the tall hedge and a large plot
| of grass in the center. also bordered
with flowers. A pool in the center
of the grassy plot is the feature OF
this picturesque retreat. In the sum
mer, goldfish swim in the pool and
pink and white lilies bloom on the
surface of the water.
Formal Effects Secured
The walk between the center plot
and the margin OF flowers is out In
straight lines. with rather formal
effect. Old stone benches and quaint
chairs to match, that have stood
around the grounds for years. are
conveniently placed for quiet tete-
a-tetes.
A number OF golf balls r some
times seer on these chairs and It is
said that the President occasionally
practices golf shots a bit in the pri-
vacy of the garden enclosure.
There are no shaded trees in the
east garden. The only trees arr
small evergreens artistically placed.
The landscape architect who design
ed the plot for Mrs. Wilson planned
t, have tall Virginia cedars used. but
the expense OF obtaining them was
too great and smaller trees were
substituted without serious change
IN the desired effect.
The flowers OF this garden arr
such delicately colored blooms al
the Darwin tulip. a large. pink va
riety: white and pale purple Iris