Bunny Mellon's Historic Cape Cod Home Sells for $19 Million

When Jackie Kennedy decided to revive the grounds surrounding the White House, she reached out to her friend and horticulturalist Rachel ‘Bunny’ Mellon to carry out the redesign. Mellon was responsible for creating the White House’s iconic Rose Garden, and much of her later work cemented her place in landscaping history.

As one can imagine, Mellon’s passion for garden design wasn’t limited to her professional work—she conjured sophisticated, well-manicured gardens across all of her homes. REcently, Scallop Path, one of Mellon’s Cape Cod properties that she purchased with her husband, banking heir Paul Mellon, sold for $19 million. Situated on an elevated bluff on the private island of Oyster Harbors, the property consists of a main house and guest cottage, but what makes Scallop Path most notable is the 7.5 acres of outdoor space, including its preserved gardens. Comprised of flower gardens, herb gardens, and vegetable gardens, the lush landscape still features many of Mellon’s original details, including a restored hidden passageway in the chimney that is said to date back to the Indian Wars. In fact, some historians believe that the home itself dates back to as early as 1680, according to the Scallop Path website.

Bunny Mellon purchased Scallop Path for around $400,000 in the 1960s as a gift to her son, and went on to spend years restoring the property to its original charm. Take a look inside the home and gardens below, and view the listing, held by Zenas Crocker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Robert Paul Properties, here.