Newly released images of the White House Rose Garden—now paved over with pale stone by President Trump—have left nostalgists and gardeners alike wondering: Why trade greenery for granite?

This is the second time the Rose Garden has undergone big changes with Trump in office. In 2020, First Lady Melania Trump oversaw her own Rose Garden makeover, which involved adding pathways, planting new rose bushes and tearing out some of the garden’s previous vegetation, including its beloved crab apple trees.

The White House Rose Garden has long served as a peaceful gathering place for the first family and their guests. But after a century of updates big and small, including the Trumps' recent concrete redesign,