Calendar of Events for 2026-2027
MARTA MCDOWELL
“All The Presidents’ Gardens”
MONDAY, NOV 16, 2026
The Lyceum, 201 South Washington Street, 7 p.m. light refreshments, 7:30 lecture
The White House grounds have mirrored American garden history. Changes to its gardens over time reflect changing fashions in horticulture and design. George Washington employed Pierre Charles L’Enfant who brought a French classical aesthetic to the original site selection. Thomas Jefferson, with the help of architect Benjamin Latrobe, introduced an English romantic sensibility to the South Lawn. In its two-hundred-plus years of history, the White House has had rows of vegetables, extensive glasshouses, Victorian carpet bedding, and styles ranging from Colonial Revival, to Italianate, to the elegant horticultural palette of the Rose Garden.
Because the presidents and first ladies want to show the best that the country has to offer, many luminaries of American garden history shaped the eighteen acres that surround the White House. Beatrix Jones Farrand designed a garden for Mrs. Wilson. Andrew Jackson Downing made recommendations to President Fillmore. Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. wrote a landscape plan for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Michael Van Valkenburgh and his firm, MVVA, redesigned the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance between 2002 and 2004. The Rose Garden has seen work by George Burnap for the Wilsons, Rachel Lambert Mellon for the Kennedys and Oehme, van Sweden Associates for the Trumps. The White House is a fashion funnel for many things, including designed landscapes.
Come take an entertaining and educational romp through our nation's garden history as seen through the changing grounds at the White House, featuring the Presidents, First Ladies, and their gardeners.
Marta McDowell teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden and is a popular lecturer and writer. Her seventh book with Timber Press is Beatrix Potter’s Botanical. Timber also published New York Times-bestselling All the Presidents' Gardens. She was the 2019 recipient of the Garden Club of America's Sarah Chapman Francis Medal for outstanding literary achievement. Marta is finishing up the manuscript for a new book about plant and garden themes in movies with the working title: Holly, Wood, and Vine.
PLEASE REGISTER GUESTS WITH karen.d.paul1948@gmail.com. Suggested contribution for guests attending a one-time lecture is $10. MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION AND CALENDAR AVAILABLE AT OUR SITE: ALEXANDRIAASSOCIATION.ORG
2026
Sat. Sept 12 — Stephanie Green, Book Talk, American Crown
Mon. Sept 28 — Patty Sheetz, Walking Tour, How the Potomac River Shaped Alexandria
Mon. Oct 19 — J. Grahame Long, Ruins and Resilience: Destruction and Preservation in Charleston’s Past
Mon. Nov 16 — Martha McDowell, All the Presidents’ Gardens
2027
Mon. Jan 18 — Newbold Richardson, Samplers and Embroideries in Women’s Education, 1700- 1850: From Fine Art To Craft
Mon. Feb 15 — Randall McLean, The Potomack Company Auctions: Extra-ordinary Objects Associated with Alexandria
Mon. Mar 15 — Jeffrey Ricketts, The Antiques and Architecture of Brick Meeting House, Maryland: 1700-1870
Mon. Apr 19 — Benjamin Prosky, Investing in the Future: Dick Jenrette's Stewardship and Style
Mon. May 17 — Brock Jobe, A Tale of Four Cities: Furniture-Making in Paris, London, Dresden, and Boston in the Mid-18th Century