{"id":329198,"date":"2026-08-25T13:00:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T13:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/329198\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T13:00:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T13:00:55","slug":"barbara-bush-gives-us-a-tour-of-her-enchanting-brooklyn-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/329198\/","title":{"rendered":"Barbara Bush gives us a tour of her enchanting Brooklyn garden"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the daughter and granddaughter of two former US presidents, Barbara Bush grew up around some of America\u2019s most treasured landscapes<\/a>, from the manicured lawns of the White House to the blooming grasslands of her native Texas.<\/p>\n

That changed when, after college, Bush moved to New York<\/a>, a city where green space can be as hard to come by as a dollar slice of pizza these days. \u2018I lived in New York<\/a> for 15-plus years, never with a yard,\u2019 she tells Wallpaper*.<\/p>\n

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\"Barbara\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo)<\/p>\n

During the pandemic, though, Bush \u2013 then pregnant with her first child \u2013 and her husband, the actor Craig Coyn, bought their dream family home in Brooklyn. In addition to classic brownstone character, the property had a coveted fenced-in backyard.<\/p>\n

It was clear, though, that the space was going to require some work; The previous occupants had used the space as an en plein air artist\u2019s studio, so, save for a few scraggly plantings and a smattering of \u2018found objects\u2019, it was bare \u2013 \u2018in a cool way,\u2019 Bush says, \u2018but not safe for children.\u2019<\/p>\n

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\"Barbara\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Dana Ghallagher)<\/p>\n

Bush envisioned transforming the plot into an urban pollinator garden, a wild oasis of native plants and flowers where visiting birds and insects could stop for a sip of nectar. She was inspired, in part, by her mom, First Lady Laura Bush, who has long advocated for rewilding landscapes, and is the founder of the conservation nonprofit Texan by Nature.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u2018My mom is a naturalist,\u2019 Bush explains. \u2018She has a sign in her yard that says \u201cMonarch Wrangler,\u201d since Texas is in the pathway of the monarch butterfly migration. There was so much intentionality around what was in our yard.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018My sister [Jenna Bush Hager] and I thought it was hilarious and made fun of her for that when we were younger,\u2019 Bush adds.<\/p>\n

Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.<\/p>\n

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\"Barbara\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Dana Ghallagher)<\/p>\n

Still, Bush was ready to evolve into her own, urban version of a monarch wrangler. For help, she turned to landscape designer Nathalie Danilovich, founder of the New York firm Nathalie Pierrepoint Design<\/a>, who happened to be married to a college acquaintance. \u2018She heard through the grapevine that I could help her with her new house in Brooklyn,\u2019 Danilovich says. \u2018She wanted a wild, naturalistic garden \u2013 one that\u2019s established, layered, romantic \u2013 we referenced, partly in jest, the beautiful overgrowth in Grey Gardens.\u2019<\/p>\n

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\"Barbara\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Dana Ghallagher)<\/p>\n

The yard also needed to be easy to maintain. In addition to being the mother of two busy children, ages 4 and 2, Bush is the vice president of social impact for the NBA. \u2018I love having a backyard and I love having a garden, and also I’m not a gardener,\u2019 Bush confessed.<\/p>\n

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\"Barbara\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Dana Ghallagher)<\/p>\n

Danilovich worked with Bush to devise a low-maintenance design that would prioritise kid-friendly gathering spaces, privacy and a naturalist\u2019s ethos. \u2018I wanted it to be full and overgrown and wild and beautiful. I didn\u2019t want manicured, and luckily, because I don’t have that much time, I wasn’t going to be able to manicure it that much myself anyway,\u2019 Bush says.<\/p>\n

\u2018I wanted it to be full and overgrown and wild and beautiful. I didn\u2019t want manicured’<\/p>\n

Barbara Bush<\/p>\n

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\"Barbara\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo)<\/p>\n

Danilovich created a broad, winding patio through the center of the backyard from woodland granite pavers, a stone that features tones of cool gray and warm buff. She then lined the perimeter of the space with lush beds of perennials, layering hardier species like fluffy Gold Dew Tufted Hair Grass and lacy Slender Mountain Mint, with more colourful varieties like Purple Meadow Rue, Eastern Bee Balm and the thistle-like Rattlesnake Master.<\/p>\n

\u2018While we talked a lot about plant diversity and pollinators, it was important to keep the plant palette relatively tight for this size space,\u2019 Danilovich explains.<\/p>\n

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\"Barbara\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo)<\/p>\n

The patio\u2019s most whimsical feature is a woven willow sun canopy at the yard\u2019s far end. Danilovich partnered with farmer and multidisciplinary artist Howard Peller<\/a> (who popped by the Bush-Coyne residence while working on an installation in Central Park\u2019s Shakespeare garden) to weave together the structure using live boughs. \u2018It\u2019s a living sculpture,\u2019 Bush says. An outdoor sofa sits beneath, which Bush spray-painted grey to match the paving stones.<\/p>\n

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\"Barbara\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo)<\/p>\n

Two summers since it was first planted, the garden is reaching full maturity \u2013 both the plantings themselves and the experience of living alongside it. The children enjoy playing games of soccer on the terrace and plucking mini<\/a> purple-and-white bouquets from the beds, and name each squirrel that passes through. As soon as the weather warms, the family will have al fresco meals together. \u2018Every night after dinner we eat an ice pop in the backyard,\u2019 Bush says. \u2018It really does feel like another room of our house.\u2019<\/p>\n

As expected, the garden has attracted local bees, fireflies and, yes, monarch butterflies. While her mother hasn\u2019t paid a visit just yet, Bush sends her photos. \u2018She really loves the \u201cbefore\u201d and \u201cafter\u201d because it’s very satisfying \u2013 It’s very dramatic,\u2019 Bush says.<\/p>\n

\u2018It’s just a fun, special place to hang,\u2019 she adds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the daughter and granddaughter of two former US presidents, Barbara Bush grew up around some of America\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329199,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-329198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}