By Jennifer Tseng
“Green flowers are enchanted flowers, magic flowers, the witches of the garden. They give an impression of reflected sunlight. … They deepen, brighten, and add subtlety to other colors. They have a mystery like true love that wants to hide but is betrayed by its own joy.”
—Bunny Mellon
Horticulturalist and landscape architect Rachel “Bunny” Mellon could have lived a glamorous life of leisure and self-indulgence. Yet instead of grand ballrooms and glittering feasts, her story unfolded in the quiet sanctuaries of her library and gardens, now preserved at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Virginia.
Her life was rooted in the trees and flowers she so lovingly tended and brought to full bloom with tears and laughter. Though much has changed since her time, Mrs. Mellon’s creativity and generosity continue to flourish.
Two Green Thumbs
Born into the prominent Lambert family in 1910, Bunny Mellon seemed destined for a life of privilege and social distinction. Her father served as president of the Gillette Safety Razor Company, and her paternal grandfather was the inventor of Listerine. Yet the young Bunny, quiet and introspective, marched to the beat of her own drum.
From the time she toddled on baby feet, she formed a deep bond with her maternal grandfather, Arthur Lowe, an avid outdoorsman. Each summer, she went to his farm in New Hampshire, where he nurtured her love for nature and books. At the age of 6, she was tending a small garden of her own, and by the age of 10, had amassed a library collection of gardening books.
Her grandson, Thomas Lloyd, recalled in an interview with the White House Historical Association that Bunny dreamed of attending college and becoming a designer after graduating from Foxcroft School. But as was often expected of young women at the time, her father insisted that she marry.
From then on, Mrs. Mellon channeled her passion into gardening. It became her creative outlet, a place to experiment, adapt, and bring ideas to life. Without any formal training, and unafraid to get her hands dirty, she spent long days, often 10 to 12 hours at a stretch, in the garden, teaching herself the art of landscape design. She held firmly to one belief: If you want a good garden, you must tend it yourself.
Kindred Spirits
In 1958, Mrs. Mellon met Jackie Kennedy, the wife of then Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy, through a mutual friend. During her first visit to Mrs. Mellon’s home, Mrs. Kennedy took note of all the beautiful details around her. A week later, she sent a heartfelt letter expressing her admiration for Mrs. Mellon’s impeccable taste and asking for her guidance on the interior design of her home in Georgetown.
Mrs. Mellon later recalled, “She had noticed every detail with enthusiasm, but it was not until she said, ‘I even loved the stale candy in the antique jars,’ that she won me over. I agreed to go to Washington and see if I could help.”
Their friendship grew, and after Kennedy became president, he asked for Mrs. Mellon’s help in renovating the White House Rose Garden. For many years, the grounds had been used to grow produce for the kitchen and as pastureland for dairy cows and sheep. Beginning in 1902 with Edith Roosevelt, First Ladies began maintaining it as a formal garden.
In “President Kennedy’s Rose Garden,” published by the White House Historical Association, Mrs. Mellon described how the garden came to be: After returning from a trip to Europe in 1961, the Kennedys visited her Cape Cod beach house for a picnic. Inspired by the magnificent gardens he had seen in Europe, the president had scarcely stepped off his boat before eagerly asking Mrs. Mellon to make him an American garden.
He envisioned the space outside his office at the west end of the White House filled with bold colors, large enough to host 1,000 guests, and functional as an outdoor workspace. Although Mrs. Mellon was an amateur who had worked only on her own gardens, she agreed on the spot.
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