All the Presidents’ Gardens

The land surrounding the White House is “one of the oldest continually cultivated patches on the North American continent,” explains McDowell (Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life) in her delightful dig through White House gardens. She plots their history from the Washington administration to the Obamas, skipping the presidents and first ladies who made few changes. Her descriptions of the grounds and evolving garden tastes are complemented with a colorful array of illustrations. McDowell fills the book with juicy tidbits: the last cow to graze on the White House lawn (1912) was named Pauline Wayne; Herbert Hoover wanted “the help” to seem invisible, so they hid behind hedges when he passed by. In between stories of glass conservatories and golf greens, McDowell digresses interestingly to cemeteries and extension services; however, her factual style too often descends to the cutesy, which is overkill in an already lighthearted treatment of the subject. Color illus. [em](Apr.) [/em]