First lady going all-out to preserve White House garden

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Wednesday, October 5, 2016
First lady Michelle Obama holds up NASA food labels after planting vegetables on the South Lawn
First lady Michelle Obama harvest the White House kitchen garden
First lady Michelle Obama, joined by students from across the country, plants vegetables during the seventh annual White House Kitchen Garden Planting
Children from the Washington area, help first lady Michelle Obama pick sweet potatoes
First lady Michelle Obama jokes that she needs to put on gloves to protect her manicure during a harvest of the White House Kitchen Garden
First lady Michelle Obama harvests the White House Kitchen Garden, June 6, 2016, at the White House in Washington.
First lady Michelle Obama, joined by Let's Move! Executive Director Deb Eschmeyer, left, and school children
First lady Michelle Obama jokingly flexes her muscles for members of the media as she harvests the White House Kitchen Garden
First lady Michelle Obama harvests the White House Kitchen Garden
A new paver etched with markings "White House Kitchen Garden" is seen at the entrance to the White House Kitchen Garden
A new arbor adorns the entrance to the White House garden
A bee crawls on a sweet potato flower grown together with other vegetables at the White House Kitchen Garden
Table and benches sit in the middle of of the White House Kitchen Garden
A flower bed is mixed with vegetables to attract more bees to cross pollinate plants at the White House Kitchen Garden
Sweet potatoes are grown together with other vegetables at the White House Kitchen Garden
Okra and other vegetables are grown at the White House Kitchen Garden
A walkway lined with pavers and layered with mulch is featured in one of the new improvement to the White House Kitchen Garden
Green bell pepper and other vegetables are grown at the White House Kitchen Garden
A flower bed is mixed with vegetables to attract more bees to cross pollinate plants at the White House Kitchen Garden
String beans and other vegetables are grown at the White House Kitchen Garden
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First lady going all-out to preserve White House gardenFirst lady Michelle Obama holds up NASA food labels after planting vegetables on the South Lawn
AP

WASHINGTON -- Michelle Obama is going all-out to ensure the White House kitchen garden that she created in 2009 doesn't get plowed under by the next first family.

A month out from Election Day, the first lady's office on Wednesday unveiled an expanded and improved garden, with the hope that it will endure regardless of who takes office come January.

The garden has grown from an original 1,100 square feet to 2,800 square feet. It has a new wooden arbor, wider bluestone walkways, tables and benches.

There's even an inscribed stone that reads: "White House Kitchen Garden, established in 2009 by First Lady Michelle Obama with the hope of growing a healthier nation for our children."

The next first family can decide to keep the garden or go in a different direction.