The gardens and gardeners in the story range from the White House and the Lambert and Mellon home states of Virginia, Massachusetts and New York to Antigua and le Potager du Roi and Hubert de Givenchy’s chateau in France. Most of these lush and secluded gardens were carved from the soil, others from wood and stone. Yet all bear that alluring “nothing should be noticed” mystique, a singular aesthetic and Bunny’s signature style that is defined in The Gardens of Bunny Mellon.
Throughout her long and storied life, Bunny Mellon’s greatest passion was garden design. She and her husband, Paul Mellon, one of the wealthiest men in America, maintained homes in New York, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Antigua, and Upperville, Virginia, and she designed the gardens at all of them. She also designed gardens for some of her dearest friends, including the Rose Garden and the East Garden at the White House, at the request of President Kennedy.
Linda Jane Holden, garden historian is also the author of Presidents’ Gardens. Linda grew up in Northern Virginia spending happy youthful hours at the gardens in Mount Vernon, Colonial Williamsburg and Washington, DC.
While working at the White House during the Reagan administration, she learned of Bunny Mellon and her contributions to landscape design. Linda’s writings are based on extensive interviews with Mrs. Mellon and gardeners at Oak Spring and other Mellon family properties.
A gardener in her own right, Linda enjoys any opportunity to create gardens that allow people to experience beauty effortlessly.
Lecture, Lunch and Book Signing $45 / Book $50
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