Today Michelle Obama hosted students from Bancroft Elementary in Northwest Washington for the
groundbreaking for a White House kitchen garden on the South Lawn. The students will help with the planting in a few weeks, and the harvesting later this year.
The 1,100-square-foot garden will include 55 kinds of vegetables, including peppers, spinach and, yes, arugula. (The selection is a wish list put together by White House chefs.) There will also be berries, herbs and two hives for honey that will be tended by a White House carpenter who is also a beekeeper. The chefs will use the produce to feed the first family, as well as for state dinners and other official events.
The White House will use organic seedlings, as well as organic fertilizers and organic insect repellents. The garden will be near the tennis courts and be visible to passersby on the street. The whole Obama family will be involved in tending the garden, White House spokeswoman Katie McCormick Lelyveld said.
Here's a video clip from the groundbreaking. Don't miss the up close shot of her fabulous black patent leather ankle boots, which she wore with a black turtleneck, black cardigan, black leggings and a black Maria Cornejo belt :
