Melania Trump Plans to Preserve Michelle Obama’s Vegetable Garden

2 minute read

First Lady Melania Trump said she plans to maintain former First Lady Michelle Obama’s famous White House vegetable garden.

“As a mother and as the First Lady of this country, Mrs. Trump is committed to the preservation and continuation of the White House Gardens, specifically the First Lady’s Kitchen Garden and the Rose Garden,” Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, senior adviser to the first lady, said in a statement to CNN.

Trump spent Saturday morning in another garden, touring the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida, with Akie Abe, wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“Both our countries histories and cultures are steeped in the nurture and nature of gardening,” Trump said in a statement, according to CNN. “Having knowledge of different cultures and customs is a wonderful way to learn and to explore. Gardening teaches us the fundamentals in care and the evolution of living things, all while inspiring us to nurture our minds and to relax and strengthen our bodies.”

Obama championed nutrition and local food during her tenure as First Lady. “I take great pride in knowing that this little garden will live on as a symbol of the hopes and dreams we all hold of growing a healthier nation for our children,” she said at a dedication for the garden last year, according to Politico.

“I am hopeful that future first families will cherish this garden like we have,” she added.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Write to Katie Reilly at Katie.Reilly@time.com