COLUMBIA TN- On Wednesday, September 9, 1846, James K. Polk wrote in his diary, “At 9 O-Clock this morning, accompanied by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, & the Atto. Gen’l, I rode out in my carriage to meet the Regents of the Smithsonian Institute on the Public grounds lying West of the Capitol and South of the President’s House, with a view to locate the site of that Institution. I met the Regents on the grounds, and spent nearly an hour with them on foot in examining the grounds.” Thus would be the start of our nation’s largest museum complex, and it is therefore fitting that the Polk Home host a traveling exhibit from that Institution. “The White House Garden” will open at Polk Presidential Hall on April 17th. This exhibit, hosted and developed by the White House Historical Association and the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Service, will look at the history of the White House gardens.

The stately grounds of the White House have served as an impressive stage for everything from elegant weddings and royal receptions to Easter egg hunts and President Eisenhower’s personal putting green. “The White House Garden,” an exhibition developed and supported by the White House Historical Association and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services (SITES), will open at Polk Presidential Hall.

“The White House Garden,” which originally debuted at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. in 2008, will come to Polk Presidential Hall from April 17th-June 13th before continuing on a twenty-city national tour through 2012. Visitors to the exhibit will be introduced to this fascinating historic landscape through an outstanding collection of photos, drawings, maps, and even family and business correspondence. The exhibit will even feature a panel recently installed to incorporate the Obama family’s influence on the White House landscape.

Since the 1790’s, presidents, first families, renowned landscape architects and countless other Americans have contributed to the development of the formal gardens and parkland surrounding the “people’s house,” shaping the land into an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind national treasure and the oldest continuously landscaped garden in the U.S.

The White House garden during the Polks’ tenure in the White House marked the end of the “old” garden first planned by Thomas Jefferson and implemented by James Monroe. The gardens were hardly elegant in comparison to today. The trees planted in earlier administrations were still dwarfed by the huge mansion. There were many flower beds scattered around the grounds which neatly framed the building, but ornamental flowers rarely decorated the state rooms, as common belief still prevailed that flowers in close-quarters gave off unhealthy vapors. Open lawns of green grass dominated the landscape and were hand-cut when knee-high. Close-cutting was completed by a herd of sheep and then rolled flat by gardener John Ousley. A vegetable garden supplied most of the needs of the table, and through the summer and fall, the cooks were busy “putting up” fruits and vegetables and making preserves. The Polk gardens were as practical as they were ornamental.

Visitors to the exhibit will learn about the daunting challenges posed by the indigenous landscape, and how the garden evolved over its 200 year history. It will illustrate the various roles the White House gardens have played in the international and domestic affairs of each administration. More than 500 trees planted on the grounds which were first documented by first daughter Amy Carter as part of a school project are also highlighted. Among them is the ancient magnolia planted by Andrew Jackson in memory of his late wife Rachel.

The White House Historical Association, established in 1961, is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to enhance the understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the White House. All proceeds from the association’s trusts, publications, and other items are used to fund acquisitions of historic furnishings and artwork for the permanent collection, assist in the preservation of the public rooms, and further its educational mission.

SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington D.C. for more than 50 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science, and history, which are shown wherever people live, work, and play.

Tickets for “The White House Garden” can be purchased separately or included with admission to the Polk Home historic site. The adult ticket rates are $7 for admission to the historic site, $5 for the Presidential Hall exhibition, and $10 for a combined ticket. Discounts are available for senior citizens, children, and groups of ten or more. Located at 301 W. Seventh Street in downtown Columbia, the Polk Home is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday-Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For additional information, call the Home at (931) 388-2354.