Master Gardener Defends Melania’s White House Garden Restoration, And They Might Change Your Opinion
Interview With Author
On Saturday, Melania Trump unveiled her new Rose Garden renovation and it caused one hell of a stir on social media. The hashtag #RoseGardenMassacre began trending, and people were comparing the result to everything from a cemetery to a parking lot.
But one master gardener, who goes by the name Jaded Cat online, stepped into the heated debate to give her take on the infamous Rose Garden makeover. In a lengthy post, the Imgur user went step by step to expose some of the critical arguments and prove them wrong. The woman concludes that Melania’s restoration is, in fact, a “well-done” one even if it doesn’t change the fact that Trump is “an annoying orange seagull.”
Bored Panda reached out to the master gardener behind the post to find out more about what she has to say about the controversial redesign.
“Melania did not exactly go down to Lowe’s and pick up some dirt and plants. Landscaping is not a political job appointment; the professionals hired to handle the situation don’t deserve to be tarred with the same brush as the Trump family,” she told us. Scroll down for the full interview below.
This is what the master gardener said in defense of Melania’s Rose Garden renovation
Image credits: Trying2P
Image credits: White House Museum
Image credits: Andrea Hanks
The master gardener, known by her online name Jaded Cat, is certified in multiple states, and she currently has what she calls “an antique apothecary garden. It’s filled with antique flower varieties, climbing English roses, and herbs I use in making all-natural oils and lotions.”
The woman emphasized that “Gardening has been a lifelong love of mine, roses being my specialty.” She also agreed to share with us what she thinks of the social media backlash against Melania’s Rose Garden renovation.
“Like many victims in abusive relationships, we as humans have been injured by Trump’s decisions for the country so often that people are becoming conditioned to view anything they do under the filter of ‘what now?!'”
Image credits: John. F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
However, the gardener believes that this is a risky attitude. “By making him out to be inhuman, we avoid taking responsibility for allowing the country to get to the point where a man like him was elected in the first place. In this case, it could damage the reputations of the professional botanists, historians, and landscapers that actually did the work and restoration Melania is being handed credit for.”
Jaded Cat named a few experts: “Perry Guillot, Inc. and Oehme, van Sweden & Associates/OvS do not deserve to have their names tarnished.”
Image credits: John. F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Image credits: Tara Engberg
The gardener explained that in terms of Melania’s renovation, upgrading the drainage is an excellent choice. “One thing not noted in many articles is that this restoration has been in discussion since the Obama Administration and was approved last year, long before the current set of crises.”
Moreover, “Gardens need refreshing from time to time, especially formal gardens where plumbing and irrigation can degrade over time. The types of plumbing available in 1962 for irrigation purposes are quite possibly leaky and disintegrating after over 50 years.” When an irrigation pipe starts leaking, plant roots that are underground head to the moisture and get into the pipes, which cause even more damage.
The gardener also added that in terms of technology updates, “my guess would be that they added modern wiring for the lighting and improved any plugs for media use so cords don’t have to be draped and hidden.”
Image credits: White House Museum
She also said that the White House has a collection of plants from all over the world in greenhouses, but not every plant is on display. “Much like the White House art collection, an incoming president can choose which items and plants they like from the collection.”
However, the ones the current president and first lady don’t like are put back into climate-controlled vaults where they are stored safely. Jaded Cat explained that “The idea of storing plants like trees for future use wouldn’t occur to most people since we don’t have multiple greenhouses to store stuff we’re bored with.”
The gardener said that the main reason she made this post was because “when we use misinformation to attack our opponents, we give our opponents fuel to call into question all of our complaints.”
For example, she continued, “Say I tell a Trump-supporting co-worker ‘they ruined the garden,’ then my friend does the research I did here and finds I am wildly misinformed, they then bring it up every time I point out something new Trump has done poorly.”
Jaded Cat concluded that it all comes down to a relatively unimportant piece of information which can cast doubt on much more important complaints. “It becomes a case of “well, you were misinformed about the garden, you’re probably misinformed this time too.”
Here’s what people had to say
Sources:
– http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/grounds/rose-garden.htm
– https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/home-decor/a33436629/white-house-rose-garden-history/
– https://www.veranda.com/outdoor-garden/news/a1258/jackie-onassis-kennedy-white-house-rose-garden/
– https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/lady-melania-trump-unveils-white-house-rose-garden/story?id=72541169
I am happy to see this rectification post. Do not bash people on the internet just because other websites do. Let's keep BP a happy site and don't go into the path of blindly copying Twitter arguments without looking at the arguments of both sides. Americans need to chill a bit. No, wait, the internet needs to chillout & relax !! ;)
Thank you so much for your positive comment! I agree 100%.
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Wow. I'm actually impressed that BP was willing to make this post , it effectively acknowledges yesterday's post was complete b******t. Congratulations to BP for correcting yesterday's fake news.
Ive commented on BP postings before and noted the BP seems to lean left and if anything that is related to Trump they tend to go off the deepend. I was slammed hard for my comment, but when I asked those who slammed me, what I had said was untrue - crickets. So yes it is good that BP addressed the original post. Some of the comments are still OTT - I've asked friends who think Biden is just the best thing ever to explain what Biden has done or will do that is going to be good for the US - and I put a condition on it - they can't reference Trump. Mostly I get that Biden has been in politics for 40 plus years - which really is not an accomplishment
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And yet those here that tried explaining some of this were quickly downvoted on the other post.
In my neck of the woods a person has to do some projects and pass a test be a master gardener so maybe this person isn't just " self proclaimed ". It's easy to despise all things Trump, I do, but if we don't retain some objectivity we're no better than him and his cronies.
@Jay: And yet here we are looking at an example of people (on the left) being thankful for the truth, even if it goes against their expectations and assumptions.
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I think the First Lady did a first class job in renovating the garden. It looks much more open, sunny, and the roses will enjoy the sun! It is a great deal more elegant than it was and I am very happy that the trees were saved to be replanted in a more appropriate space. Very well done overall!
For the most part, the people who negatively commented on yesterday's article about the new garden have made themselves scarce. Thank you for posting this article and validating what so many of us tried explaining yesterday- tulips don't bloom in August, the trees were old and shading the plantings, and that new gardens need time to flourish and reach their potential.
Good the BP did this post (Master Gardener is a real designation BTW), but it would be better if they had looked at the facts before they even when down that path. And the facts were well known through briefings, press releases and magazine articles - you really didn't have to look to hard to find the truth.
This brings up a good thing to think about... A lot of the article you read online are filled with misinformation and/or are used to generate hate, mislead, or make people look a certain way for political reasons. This happens everywhere and on every site. even your local news station, so they can push their political views.
I think this is the first time a Trump has been publicly supported. First 'FAKE NEWS' shout in FAVOUR of a Trump!
Well, the first time a Trump has been publicly supported here on this site, which leans heavily left.
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Trump and his wife should say they love breathing, most Biden voters would die from holding their breath.
I'm not necessarily a fan, but then doesn't a garden need some time to truly show itself? Before I visited Lady Diana's memorial garden at Kensington palace, I thought that a completely white garden would be boring as hell. Actually, it was STUNNING! I've even looked up the list of plants used and saved it, just in case I'll ever get to have a garden of my own. Let's see what this looks like in a year or so, when the plants have settled in, grown and are in bloom.
My concern is that it strayed so far from the Kennedy administration design while saying that was the design ideal they were focused on. It is now generic and bland compared to how it was envisioned in the 1960s. Even by today's standards, it's ultimately dull. It fails as a formal parterre. It has no deeper connection to American gardening. Why pretend the First Lady - who has no interest in gardening that I know of - actually had some hand or interest in the design? It's changed from THE Rose Garden to A rose garden.
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Maybe if the media got this so wrong..perhaps they also have been getting other things wrong? Just a thought sheeple.
I don’t think that the media got anything wrong. This gardener is adding her expertise to the conversation. I can still look at pictures and say “I feel that garden looked a lot better before Melania touched it”. I have a better understanding of the changes, doesn’t mean I think it’s better. And those were the stories. People’s reactions.
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Glad to hear that they just removed the trees and they're going to be replanted somewhere else. That was the bit that I was concerned about since they were kind of a memorial. If they're just being moved to a better location I'm cool with it. (I mean, I understand the having to move things...I have to rip out a wisteria vine that got planted too close to the house and is invading every inch around it.
Who give a pink f**k! The world is a f*****g mess right now and people are worried about a damn garden?
Thank you for not just spreading reactionary, manipulatively framed images. BP has a wonderful article this spring about perspective in photography being framed to manipulate the viewer. Comparing may/june pictures with late August is not a reasonable comparison. I don't want to waste energy being outraged by bs. There is so much real
Just generally speaking. I've sometimes seen those weird machine things (sorry, have no clue what they are called) that remove large trees with a large lump of soil. I take it from your post, this method doesn't work then? So why are they using them?
Load More Replies...
I am happy to see this rectification post. Do not bash people on the internet just because other websites do. Let's keep BP a happy site and don't go into the path of blindly copying Twitter arguments without looking at the arguments of both sides. Americans need to chill a bit. No, wait, the internet needs to chillout & relax !! ;)
Thank you so much for your positive comment! I agree 100%.
Load More Replies... Wow. I'm actually impressed that BP was willing to make this post , it effectively acknowledges yesterday's post was complete b******t. Congratulations to BP for correcting yesterday's fake news.
Ive commented on BP postings before and noted the BP seems to lean left and if anything that is related to Trump they tend to go off the deepend. I was slammed hard for my comment, but when I asked those who slammed me, what I had said was untrue - crickets. So yes it is good that BP addressed the original post. Some of the comments are still OTT - I've asked friends who think Biden is just the best thing ever to explain what Biden has done or will do that is going to be good for the US - and I put a condition on it - they can't reference Trump. Mostly I get that Biden has been in politics for 40 plus years - which really is not an accomplishment
Load More Replies... And yet those here that tried explaining some of this were quickly downvoted on the other post.
In my neck of the woods a person has to do some projects and pass a test be a master gardener so maybe this person isn't just " self proclaimed ". It's easy to despise all things Trump, I do, but if we don't retain some objectivity we're no better than him and his cronies.
@Jay: And yet here we are looking at an example of people (on the left) being thankful for the truth, even if it goes against their expectations and assumptions.
Load More Replies... I think the First Lady did a first class job in renovating the garden. It looks much more open, sunny, and the roses will enjoy the sun! It is a great deal more elegant than it was and I am very happy that the trees were saved to be replanted in a more appropriate space. Very well done overall!
For the most part, the people who negatively commented on yesterday's article about the new garden have made themselves scarce. Thank you for posting this article and validating what so many of us tried explaining yesterday- tulips don't bloom in August, the trees were old and shading the plantings, and that new gardens need time to flourish and reach their potential.
Good the BP did this post (Master Gardener is a real designation BTW), but it would be better if they had looked at the facts before they even when down that path. And the facts were well known through briefings, press releases and magazine articles - you really didn't have to look to hard to find the truth.
This brings up a good thing to think about... A lot of the article you read online are filled with misinformation and/or are used to generate hate, mislead, or make people look a certain way for political reasons. This happens everywhere and on every site. even your local news station, so they can push their political views.
I think this is the first time a Trump has been publicly supported. First 'FAKE NEWS' shout in FAVOUR of a Trump!
Well, the first time a Trump has been publicly supported here on this site, which leans heavily left.
Load More Replies... Trump and his wife should say they love breathing, most Biden voters would die from holding their breath.
I'm not necessarily a fan, but then doesn't a garden need some time to truly show itself? Before I visited Lady Diana's memorial garden at Kensington palace, I thought that a completely white garden would be boring as hell. Actually, it was STUNNING! I've even looked up the list of plants used and saved it, just in case I'll ever get to have a garden of my own. Let's see what this looks like in a year or so, when the plants have settled in, grown and are in bloom.
My concern is that it strayed so far from the Kennedy administration design while saying that was the design ideal they were focused on. It is now generic and bland compared to how it was envisioned in the 1960s. Even by today's standards, it's ultimately dull. It fails as a formal parterre. It has no deeper connection to American gardening. Why pretend the First Lady - who has no interest in gardening that I know of - actually had some hand or interest in the design? It's changed from THE Rose Garden to A rose garden.
Load More Replies... Maybe if the media got this so wrong..perhaps they also have been getting other things wrong? Just a thought sheeple.
I don’t think that the media got anything wrong. This gardener is adding her expertise to the conversation. I can still look at pictures and say “I feel that garden looked a lot better before Melania touched it”. I have a better understanding of the changes, doesn’t mean I think it’s better. And those were the stories. People’s reactions.
Load More Replies... Glad to hear that they just removed the trees and they're going to be replanted somewhere else. That was the bit that I was concerned about since they were kind of a memorial. If they're just being moved to a better location I'm cool with it. (I mean, I understand the having to move things...I have to rip out a wisteria vine that got planted too close to the house and is invading every inch around it.
Who give a pink f**k! The world is a f*****g mess right now and people are worried about a damn garden?
Thank you for not just spreading reactionary, manipulatively framed images. BP has a wonderful article this spring about perspective in photography being framed to manipulate the viewer. Comparing may/june pictures with late August is not a reasonable comparison. I don't want to waste energy being outraged by bs. There is so much real
Just generally speaking. I've sometimes seen those weird machine things (sorry, have no clue what they are called) that remove large trees with a large lump of soil. I take it from your post, this method doesn't work then? So why are they using them?
Load More Replies... 
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