A petition urging that the White House Rose Garden be restored to its former beauty following former first lady Melania Trump’s “renovations” has reached nearly 80,000 signatures.

The petition, circulated by Change.org is addressed to Dr. Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff and it requests that they restore it to its original appearance. Melania Trump’s redesign of the garden has been widely panned as lacking color, Newsweek reports.

When Melania remodeled the garden prior to her speech before the Republican National Convention on August 25, 2020, it caused a stir because she had ruined much of the garden’s natural beauty by removing its historic roses and crab apple trees. While the original trees had been replaced several times in the years since, they were considered a beloved feature of the garden, planted by Jackie Kennedy when the garden was refurbished in 1962.

The petition’s authors say Trump has “ripped away” the garden’s personality and “replaced it with a boring tribute to herself.”

“In 1961 President and Mrs. Kennedy had just returned from a state visit to France, followed by stops in England and Austria,” the petition reads.

“The president noted that the White House had no garden equal in quality or attractiveness to the gardens he had seen in which he had been entertained in Europe.”

“There he had recognized the importance of gardens surrounding an official residence and their appeal to the sensibilities of all people. To honor Jacqueline Kennedy’s contributions to the White House and its grounds, her immediate successor, First Lady Lady Bird Johnson renamed the East Garden as the “Jacqueline Kennedy Garden” during a ceremony on 22 April 1965.”

The petition also reads:

“In 2019, Melania Trump had the cherry trees (actually crab apple trees), a gift from Japan, removed as well as the rest of the foliage and replaced with a boring tribute to herself.”

“Jackie’s legacy was ripped away from Americans who remembered all that the Kennedys meant to us. We want Jill Biden and Doug Emhof to take this on and restore the Rose Garden to Jackie’s original design.”

The petition has now gathered more than 83,000 signatures as of Tuesday evening, with a goal of attaining 150,000 signatures.

Jackie Kennedy wanted the garden to be “useful and attractive,” noted Rachel Lambert Mellon, the horticulturalist who was commissioned to design the garden. While the garden may still be useful, thanks to Melania it’s no longer attractive.

Hopefully, Biden and Emhof will dig in. Melania removed any trace of history when she plundered the garden. It’s largely colorless and devoid of life. She turned this garden into a shell of its former beauty.

I’d say it’s time for a change.

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