UPPERVILLE, Va. — Rachel Lambert Mellon, better known as Bunny Mellon, was a close friend of the Kennedys, a fashion icon, a philanthropist, and an environmentalist.
Mellon was passionate about sustainable agriculture and gardening. She even helped design the Rose Garden and the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden at the White House. Today her legacy lives on through the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, which operates at the Mellon's former estate in Upperville.
Sir Peter Crane, a plant scientist and President of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, shares what the foundation is all about.
“Our focus is really on plants, gardens and landscape, practical horticulture, the history and conservation of plants, landscape design, plant design, and we also have a farm that produces vegetables for consumption here but also for donations to local food banks. So we're all about plants gardens and landscapes,” said Crane.
Using the vast resources Mellon left behind, like her rare book library, the foundation offers courses all year long to help educate the public about plants and our environment.
“On one end of the spectrum, we have a Christmas holiday wreath-making class or a flower-arranging class," Crane explained. "But at the other end of the spectrum, we have residential classes on plant illustration through time, 600 years of botanical illustration looking at things in the library. But we also run classes on invasive species control, practical aspects of gardening, practical aspects of landscape management, and biodiversity walks. So there are many different opportunities.”
There are different opportunities to learn about nature, surrounded by some of the most beautiful nature that Virginia has to offer. To take part in Bunny Mellon’s passion for plants and to visit the estate, you will need to sign up for one of their courses through their website.