White House Rose Garden Designer’s Cape Cod Estate Where Socialite Hosted JFK and Jackie Hits the Market for $23.9 Million

The home of White House Rose Garden designer, Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, has hit the market for $23.9 million—decades after it was visited by President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy.

The Cape Cod estate was built by Bunny and her husband, Paul, who is the heir to the famous banking family that founded the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, in the 1950s.

The 7,300-square-foot home features eight bedrooms and sweeping views of the sea and neighboring gardens. The grounds hold a collection of cottages, including the beach house where the Kennedys stayed during their visit.

The listing describes the property as a “secluded treasure nestled on a private island.”

Bunny, the renowned landscaper, overhauled the grounds to create an “exquisite blend of native plantings and trees,” according to the listing.

The property includes 500 feet of waterfront, and a private dock provides access to a private island that is home to a protected bird sanctuary.

“They created a home of elegance, comfort and great beauty, where they entertained world leaders, movie stars and industrialists,” the listing reads.

The living area features a white color palette and large windows, which flood the space with natural light. The neutral aesthetic and coastal design run throughout the home.

Outside, the patio area offers space for guests to enjoy magnificent sunsets.

History buffs will no doubt be amazed by the property’s landscaped gardens, which closely resemble the iconic White House Rose Garden.

The Rose Garden was initially a Colonial-style garden created by first lady Edith Roosevelt in 1903. In 1962, Jacqueline commissioned Bunny to redesign the space.

Bunny created a serene space with contrasting colored plantings and various textures as well as four magnolia trees to show off the architecture of the White House.

Her design featured a large central grass panel, rose bushes, and other striking flowers.

When she commissioned Bunny to redesign the Rose Garden, she questioned whether she would be able to pull off such a task, Jacqueline previously admitted.

However, Bunny’s beloved garden outside of the West Wing is now unrecognizable, having been completely paved over as part of President Donald Trump‘s drastic renovation plans for the White House.

Trump, 79, first revealed his plans for the historic space in a March interview on Fox News, explaining that he wanted to pave over the lawn directly outside the West Wing to prevent women’s high heels from getting stuck in the grass and to avoid any unnecessary falls.

“You know, we use [the Rose Garden] for press conference and it doesn’t work because the people fall,” he said. “The terrain can be wet and the soft ground can be an issue for some. Women, with the high heels, it just didn’t work.”

Work on the historic garden began on June 9, when employees of the National Park Service began removing a limestone border that had been installed by Trump’s wife, Melania, 55, during his first term in office.

The renovation quickly progressed, with images taken on June 17 and June 18 revealing that the entire lawn had been ripped up by bulldozers—as well as several poles that were under the ground—before gravel was laid across the entire surface.

Despite Trump’s insistence that the garden renovation was entirely necessary, the project has sparked some backlash from critics, who insist that the “removal” of such an important piece of White House history is disrespectful.

“White House Rose Garden gone. Absolutely crazy,” one critic wrote in a post on X.

“To remove Kennedy’s Rose Garden is removing a piece of our White House history. And for a patio,” another commenter chimed in.

“Melania and Donald Trump are ruining the White House Rose Garden once again. They’re deplorables,” one other person posted.

However, a White House spokesperson insisted that Trump and his wife have “the deepest respect for the history of the White House and the Rose Garden.”

“This restoration to the Rose Garden preserves the beauty of the space and builds on the work done in 2020, with a focus on enhancing practical use and guest experience for those attending special events,” said the spokesperson.

The Rose Garden has long been one of the most cherished outdoor spaces at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., having first been renovated by first lady Ellen Louise Wilson, wife President Woodrow Wilson, in 1913.

Ellen collaborated with landscaper George Burnap on the space—which had previously been used as a Colonial-style garden by former first lady Edith Roosevelt, according to the National Park Service website.

The space was used by several presidents, including Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, as a small reception space. It was expanded to accommodate larger gatherings during Kennedy’s presidency, when his wife transformed the Rose Garden into the iconic space that many know it as today.

When Melania first revealed her plans to overhaul the garden during her husband’s first term, she also faced backlash. Critics slammed the work that was done to the space—which involved the removal of almost all of the plants and flowers.

According to the Associated Press, the latest work on the Rose Garden is due to be completed in the first half of August, with an unnamed official revealing that workers have been given a two-month timeline for the project.

The paving of the Rose Garden is just one part of Trump’s extensive renovation plans for the White House—to which he is also planning to add a lavish ballroom, much like the event space at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

On June 6, Trump shared a post on his own social media website, Truth Social, about the future ballroom, insisting that it will be a “wonderful addition” to the White House, while claiming that his predecessors had not had adequate experience to oversee such an impactful project.

“But I do, like maybe nobody else, and it will go up quickly, and be a wonderful addition, very much in keeping with the magnificent White House itself,” he wrote. “These are the ‘fun’ projects I do while thinking about the World Economy, the United States, China, Russia, and lots of other Countries, places, and events.”

He said during a May interview with NBC News that he was funding the project himself—while also paying for the installation of two 100-foot flagpoles that will sit on the North and South Lawns at the White House.