Instead of canceling the long-awaited garden tours, officials chose a quieter compromise: move the date, preserve the experience, and acknowledge the reality unfolding just beyond the fences. By shifting the event from April 5 to April 6, they tried to thread a narrow needle between public safety and the right to protest, signaling that neither tradition nor dissent had to be sacrificed outright.

Yet the decision also reveals how fragile even beloved customs have become in a polarized era. The South Lawn, Rose Garden, and winding paths of the “people’s house” will still open, offering that rare feeling of walking through living history.

But this year, every blossom and brick will carry a reminder that democracy isn’t just debated in halls of power; it presses up against the gates, reshaping even the gentlest of spring days.