White House Vegetable Garden heirloom seeds and 10 different herbs such as anise hyssop and Thai basil. Former presidents' favorite produce were also sown, such as President Thomas Jefferson’s preferred vegetables, “Brown Dutch and Tennis Ball lettuce, Prickly Seed spinach and Savoy cabbage” but beets were not grown because President Obama did not like them. Along with the vegetable garden, a beehive was added near the chef’s kitchen that is overseen by Charlie Brandts, a beekeeper and White House carpenter. Honey collected from the beehives has been used to brew White House Honey Ale. The contributing gardeners responsible for the early stages of the
Bok Tower Gardens only. To make an appointment, the Bok Tower librarian should be contacted. The Chao Research Center Archives was formed in 2008, after a generous donation made by the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation. With this donation, space was made available on the second floor of the Singing Tower to accommodate a growing need for delicate archival documents. The Chao Research Center Archives stores the official archives of Bok Tower Gardens along with other significant collections. These significant collections include the Nellie Lee Bok Collection, American Foundation Collection, and Edward Bok Newspaper Scrapbook Collection. The Nellie Lee Bok Collection