Robert M. Redmond
Cite this Page
"Robert M. Redmond," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/724.
- Positions
- Gardener
- Florist
- Years in President's House
- 1923 – 1963
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- Robert Milton Redmond was born on March 8, 1907, in Virginia.1 In 1923, at the age of sixteen, he began working a summer job for the National Park Service, which entailed working on the White House gardens and grounds.2 So began a long career as a White House gardener and florist that spanned forty years and six presidencies.3 As Redmond put it: “I was never far away from the place, except for my three years of war duty” during World War II.4 His responsibilities included planting and mowing the lawn, arranging bouquets for White House events, caring for the plants and trees throughout the gardens and grounds, and shopping at local flower markets for special varieties.5 After the retirement of his mentor William Saunders Reeves in 1945, Redmond was promoted to the position of head gardener, overseeing about a dozen gardeners and florists from the bouquet room at the White House.6 In addition to the usual duties of a gardener, he also managed the Kennedy pets, caring for ponies Macaroni and Tex while they grazed the lawn and, to his chagrin, [nipped] off the heads of flowers. He also watched Pushinka, a dog gifted to the Kennedys from Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev, sometimes bringing her to the White House fence to greet curious tourists.7 Robert retired from his position in 1963 and worked as a part-time landscaper in Virginia. He died on August 22, 1976, and was buried at Ivy Hill Cemetery in Virginia.8
- Robert Milton Redmond in the U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For Virginia, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 603, Ancestry.com; “Robert Milton Redmond,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27281924/robert-milton-redmond.
- Lillian Porter Say, “White House Grounds Hold Beautiful Blooms,” Oregon Daily Journal, July 17, 1949, pg. 29; Fred Blumenthal, “Flowers for the First Lady,” Macon Telegraph, October 8, 1961, pg. 58.
- See obituary quoted in “Robert Milton Redmond,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27281924/robert-milton-redmond.
- Lillian Porter Say, “White House Grounds Hold Beautiful Blooms,” Oregon Daily Journal, July 17, 1949, pg. 29.
- “America’s No. 1 Gardener is Kept Busy,” Valley Times (California), December 1, 1947, pg. 11; Cora Harris, “Miss Harris Tours the White House Gardens,” The Charlotte News, February 4, 1948, pg. 16; Yolande Gwin, “White House Gardener Magic Touch Virginian,” The Atlanta Journal, July 13, 1952, pg. 69; “Backstairs at the White House,” Redlands Daily Facts, March 22, 1954, pg. 9.
- The bouquet room is now known as the White House Flower Shop. See “America’s No. 1 Gardener is Kept Busy,” Valley Times (California), December 1, 1947, pg. 11.
- Raymond J. Crowley, “Macaroni and Tex Are Cleared of Charge of Undemocratic Conduct,” Janesville Weekly Gazette, May 18, 1962, pg. 11’ “Nikita Sends Gifts to Kennedys,” Kansas City Times, June 2, 1961, pg. 6; “Pushinka, a dog gifted by Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union (USSR) to President Kennedy,” John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/jfkwhp-1961-06-20-c#?image_identifier=JFKWHP-KN-C18118.
- “Robert Milton Redmond,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27281924/robert-milton-redmond; “R. M. Redmond, 69, Former Chief White House Gardener,” Washington Post, August 24, 1976.
- Birthplace
- Virginia, USA
- Ivy Hill Cemetery