On any given day in Washington, one can see crowds of sightseers gather outside the White House’s age-old gates for a glimpse of what lies beyond. This past weekend, however, those gates were opened for the Executive Mansion's 39th annual fall garden tour.
The event, which has been a little-known staple in Washington, was started in 1972 by First Lady Patricia Nixon as a way to showcase the White House grounds to the nation and the world.
Visitors strolled around the South Lawn driveway, passing by magnolia trees planted by President Andrew Jackson, the Kennedy and Rose Gardens and informational placards telling the tale of the ever-evolving White House landscape.
The newest addition to the grounds, the Kitchen Garden, was prominently showcased. Planted by First Lady Michelle Obama in 2009, the garden now supplies the vegetables for all of the Obamas family dinners as well as for meals at Miriam's Kitchen in Foggy Bottom, an organization devoted to feeding the Districts homeless.
The President’s Own Marine Band provided the public with an assortment of music to add an air of officialness to the event that only the White House can provide.
Although no numbers are available for how many people actually attended the tours, press liaisons noted that they expected bolstered attendance compared to previous years because of people in town for the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Dedication, as well as the George Washington and Georgetown Universities parents weekends.
For those who missed the tours, The White House will open it’s gates again for its annual spring tours in April.
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