Charles Henlock

Charles Henlock was born in 1856 in England and trained with the Royal Horticultural Society._¹ He moved to the United States in 1886 and began working at the White House that year as a laborer, eventually being promoted to head gardener. At the time, these positions fell under the purview of the War Department.² 

As head gardener, Henlock oversaw the gardens and grounds and managed the propagation of plants in the White House conservatory; in 1902, when the conservatory was demolished to make room for today’s West Wing, these greenhouses moved to the National Mall.³ He worked with many first ladies to select florals for events and daily decoration, including State Dinners, Inaugural Balls, funerals, and several White House weddings.⁴ He also played an important role in annual events on the White House Grounds, such as the White House Easter Egg Roll and the National Christmas Tree Lighting. 

He was later promoted to Chief of the Horticultural Division of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks, overseeing the planting of flowerbeds, trees, and shrubbery, and the propagation of hundreds of thousands of plants for use around greenspaces in the capital city alongside a large team of expert laborers. Most famously, Henlock “supervised the actual planting of the cherry trees in Potomac Park” along the Tidal Basin in 1912, and provided estimates on peak bloom each year that followed.⁵ As one newspaper put it: “To his skill and industry much of the beauty of the city is due.”⁶ 

In 1931, Henlock left his role due to Civil Service Commission regulations outlining mandatory retirement after forty-five years of government service.⁷ In retirement, he served the White House gardens in an advisory capacity. Charles Henlock died on February 18, 1934 and is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C.⁸