How to Start Seeds From Home
Written by Nicole Semeraro, Seasonal Horticulturist At the Conservancy, spring is synonymous with seedlings. Along with the many buds and blooms on The Greenway, our horticulture staff are cultivating seedlings that will eventually be transplanted into the park. Did you know you can find fruits and vegetables along The Greenway? On Dewey Square, our Demo […]
What’s blooming on The Greenway this May and how we know!
Written by Darrah Cole, Senior Horticulturist and Designer How does a bear know when it’s time to hibernate? Why do April showers bring May flowers? Many plants and animals don’t have calendars but take cues from the changing seasons. Changes such as temperature, precipitation, and length of day signal organisms to enter new phases of […]
Supporting our Native Pollinators at home and on The Greenway
Written by Tori Hiney, Ecological Health Care Horticulturist Spring is in the air and on The Greenway as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day! The park is coming back to life after our mild winter, blooms abound, and we are starting to see our polli-neighbors emerge. In case you need a reminder, we […]
Water Conservation on The Greenway: Match Precipitation & Cup Count
Written by Michael Bestoso, Landscape and Irrigation Specialist The Greenway Conservancy constantly strives to improve our irrigation system throughout the park, making it more efficient and sustainable in both practice and performance. Today, in celebration of Earth Day, we’ll be discussing one of our strategies in depth, a process called match precipitation. Match Precipitation involves […]
Earth Day 2020 | A Message from the Greenway Conservancy
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and the Greenway Conservancy is ready to celebrate! Earth Day is an opportunity to step back and think about the environment, to educate yourself and others on the health of the planet, and to take action. Typically, Earth Day on The Greenway has been a […]
Bring The Greenway Home: Planting Container Gardens
Written by Darrah Cole, Senior Horticulturist and Designer As spring blooms begin to emerge, May and early June are the perfect time for planting container gardens. These gardens will often last through the whole season; many holding right up to Thanksgiving! The Conservancy has a number of containers plantings on The Greenway, over 85 of […]
Voices of Volunteerism: Karen Bergstrand
Written by Isabel Smith, Volunteer Programs Coordinator As a non profit, the Greenway Conservancy depends on the efforts of our many talented volunteers, both in the park and in the office. It is their dedication to The Greenway that makes it possible for us to have such a dynamic public space. Volunteer Spotlight: Karen Bergstrand […]
Looking back at 2019
As the Greenway Conservancy wraps up our tenth (10!) season maintaining and operating The Greenway, we wanted to take a moment to look back at some of our favorite moments of the last year on Boston’s contemporary public park. From our ever-changing public art installations to free public programming, sustainably maintained lawns and gardens to […]
2019 Season Wrap Up: Horticulture Interns
Written by Adam Banks and Grace Ledgard Hi, my name is Adam Banks and I’m thrilled to have been one of the Greenway Conservancy Horticulture Interns for the 2019 summer season! I’m a rising junior at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine studying Environmental Studies. I’ve lived in Jamaica Plain all my life and I’ve always […]
Celebrating our “buzz” worthy polli-neighbors!
The bees are buzzing, and so is The Greenway! We cannot think of a better way to welcome spring than with the first season of our new wildflower meadow and the introduction of three beehives to the park. Celebrating 10 years of care and management of The Greenway, the Conservancy is thrilled to expand […]
Your own Pocket Park
The newest installation on The Greenway is a wonderful collaboration between our staff, interns and artists. Asked to come up with possibilities for a small corner property added to The Greenway responsibilities by MassDOT in 2015, we put our heads together this past winter. Tucked between the Leather District, Chinatown, the edge of the Financial […]
Named by the Greeks: Peonias and Iris
(This blog contributed by Michael Pistininzi, Greenway Horticulturist) Many classic spring flowers have an ancient tradition. People all over the world have enjoyed the brilliance of peonies and irises for thousands of years. Their names alone illustrate their old ties and our continued admiration of these colorful flowers. Peonies are named after the medical pupil, Paeon, […]
Magnolias – an ancient favorite
(this blog contributed by Michael Pistininzi, one of our staff horiculturists) Magnolia is an ancient genus that has survived millions of years of climate changes and geological transitions. The fossil record of Magnolias date back before bees, and were believed to be pollinated mainly by beetles. Because of its endurance, the genus Magnolia is extremely […]
Snow! still here today
It feels like an April fool’s joke! The early bulbs and narcissus are starting to show off their color and style. And now they are covered with snow! Just as the warm and mild temperatures helped them along into an even earlier bloom then usual. We all hope this snow is equally ephemeral – here […]
harbingers of spring – the crocus
It is officially an early spring. And the bulbs already blooming are proof. Crocus are bursting out everywhere on The Greenway – in the North End, the Urban Arboretum, and Fort Point Channel parks. These early crocus are one of the first pollen sources for the local bees, who have been out foraging and collecting […]
Waking up in Winter
Yesterday was brilliantly sunny and lured me into a walk to The Greenway Fort Point Channel gardens. The Galanthus, (snowdrops) are mid bloom, and the Hamamelis (witch hazel) are looking wonderful – almost at peak bloom. The Hamamalis are doing their best to pick up where last year’s aerial sculpture by Janet Echelman left off […]
Vibrant! Fall Color
The autumn color on The Greenway is approaching its peak. Each year I watch certain species for their change from green to some version of spectacular. This week the Amelanchier (shadbush) are in gear! Last week their leaves may have been a dull green with some yellow showing through. Now they are a splendid, rich, […]
Fall Crocus and Colchicums
It’s that time again… time for fall blooms! I’m not sure if it’s the thought of the looming winter or the freeze warnings suddenly bombarding your phone, but there is something truly magical about fall bloomers. Whether it’s the classic annual Mum that catches your eye or the show-stopping perennials such as Asters and Anemones, […]
Eat & Drink Local: Greenway Herbs Showing Up On Local Menus!
A few years ago we told you about plans to develop a multi-faceted Demonstration Garden in our Dewey Square Park. At the time, our Senior Horticulturist and Designer, Darrah Cole, spoke to the Conservancy’s intent to create a raised edible garden and outdoor classroom for instruction: We want the garden to serve as a great example […]
Spring Lawn Aeration & Treatments Begin
Today, Wednesday, May 6, 2015, The Greenway Horticulture team continues the Spring time Lawn Aeration and fertilization process. Our Horticulture foreman, Anthony, is on the Greenway tractor using our fracking aerator (it’s a good thing) to loosen our lawns, while our Seasonal horticulture staff (Mike, Tori, Alaina and Gary) aerate the lawn in and around […]
The Earliest, but Fleeting, Spring Ephemerals in Bloom
Greener and greener! Finally, spring is here and the plants along the Greenway are responding to sun, warmth and longer days. Some of my favorites will be blooming soon, and they go fast when the weather is like it has been lately – hovering near 60 degrees. Spring ephemerals are the delicate, colorful, unusual plants […]
Anticipating Spring
We are waiting with bated breath – waiting for the snow to melt. I was so encouraged last week on that one sunny, fifty degree day. The refrain of the Wicked Witch of the West was playing over and over “I’mmm meelllting, I’mmm mellllting!”in my head. Now the temperature has dropped back to the low […]
Along the Winter Greenway
The temperatures have dropped below freezing, the leaves are gone from all the trees, and someday the snow will fly. It is winter on the Greenway. Horticulturally, it is a vastly different time. The herbaceous perennials, the annuals, and many of the shrubs and trees have lost their green. Leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds are […]
Opuntia – the only native New England cactus
Opuntia humifusa, or Eastern Prickly Pear is our only native cactus. It is surprising we have even one, and it is blooming right NOW on the Greenway. The specimen on the Greenway is planted in the Wharf district – close to the art installation titled Harbor Fog. Our plant came as 5 single, rooted cuttings […]
Early Summer Color
Make way for the peonies and iris. The first of what I consider summer flowers are starting to bloom on the Greenway. The luscious tree peony flowers, full, loose and frilly have already passed by in a flash but the Peaonia lactiflora, and other hybrid peonies, are fully budded and just about to pop open. […]
