Volunteering in Spring
April is a time when everyone’s thoughts turn to spring. Here at the Greenway Conservancy, it is also a time when we get a lot of eager volunteers ready to get outside and lend their hands! Not only is April National Garden Month, it is also contains National Volunteer Week, National Environmental Education Week, Earth […]
Spring Clean Up and Mulching
One last good raking and a layer of composted mulch is our version of spring cleaning. This week we have been finishing spring cut backs of the dormant perennials and grasses. We leave these standing throughout the winter to provide both visual interest, habitat for beneficial insects – we found a praying mantis egg sack […]
Spring Equinox is here
The Greenway is thawing out! Today’s current temperature of 41 degrees is a great improvement from Monday’s chilly high of 26. The Spring Equinox marks the moment when the day and night are of equal length – giving us a full 12 hours of daylight today. From now until the Summer Solstice in June the […]
The Earliest Flowers
They are not in evidence yet but I am waiting and watching for these – the earliest of spring blooms. As the days lengthen, and the temperature warms, (and Monday’s new snow melts), these flowers will start blooming in all the parks in the Greenway. Gold and yellow crocus in the lawns, white snowdrops tucked […]
Before the Warm – the Bones of Trees
While we wait for more promises of spring we continue to have blankets of snow coating the gardens, lawns and paths along the Greenway. Without the distraction of the soft green layers and riots of colorful plants it is the structure and architecture of the trees, and shrubs too, that stand out in the park […]
Gardens in Winter; New Blooms Already
With the ground bare from melting snow you can see the earliest of flowers emerging on the Greenway. Mostly found in the Fort Point Channel Parks, these are true winter bloomers. The very first to appear are on the Witch Hazel, a small native tree. The flowers of the Hamamelis vernalis are just now emerging, […]
Gardens in Winter; Protecting our Plants
We have a number of broadleaf evergreen shrubs that provide texture and color to the Greenway all winter including Ilex, Buxus, and Rhododendron. While we select plants because they are well suited to our climate and conditions, these leafy plants, the hollys, the boxwoods and shrubs in the rhododendron family, benefit from added protection and […]
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year from the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy! As we were reflecting on the Rose Kennedy Greenway’s Top 10 in 2013 we wanted to thank you for your patronage and support. The non-profit Conservancy is proud to maintain, program, and improve the Greenway on behalf of the public and in partnership with the Commonwealth […]
The Gardens in Winter
Winter is here! Two snow events in a week mean that winter is a reality. That these snow storms occurred right in time for the winter solstice may be coincidence, or serendipity. As with everything we do, we want the parks and garden beds to look great all winter long. This means considering what happens […]
The Greenway’s Top 10 in 2013
The Greenway’s Top 10 in 2013 includes great accomplishments and fun recognition: In winter, we partnered with The Tiffany & Co. Foundation that completed the capital campaign for the Greenway Carousel and began construction. We opened Labor Day weekend, on-time and on-budget. The Carousel—the most accessible in New England—features animals native to Boston (cod, lobster, […]
Organic Turf Maintenance on the Greenway
Note: This article appeared in a recent issue of the Ecological Landscape Association newsletter and was written by Anthony Ruggiero, our Horticulture Foreman. The Greenway is a mile-and-a-half-long public park that stretches from Chinatown to the North End in downtown Boston. It is a linear series of small parks that sit above the I-93 tunnel […]
Sighted! Praying Mantis on the Greenway
Here is one of our favorite and well known beneficial insects making a home on the Greenway. This Praying Mantis was in the North End just last week. It is on the Boxwood hedge, helping us take care of insects pests throughout the Greenway gardens. Having these is a sign of a healthy ecosystem, one […]
FY13 – A Summary of Our Work on the Greenway
Every year, we pull together a narrative of what we’ve accomplished to submit with our IRS Form 990 submission. We thought we’d share a summary with you, this covers the period of July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013, which is our fiscal year. The Conservancy is the designated steward of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, […]
Evergreen Tree Planting in Fort Point Channel Park
On Tuesday, November 5th we planted five evergreen trees in the Fort Point Channel Park, between Congress and Pearl Streets.
Walk Your Bike and Use Bike Lanes Signage
This week, we began a pilot project to try out several new types of signage concerning bike riding on the Greenway. Sadly, bike riding is not permitting on the Greenway and is a posted rule on official Greenway signage. That said, with more people visiting the Greenway on a daily basis, we have seen and have heard about a number of accidents and near misses and we are working to get the word out.
Stonework at North End Park Fountains
We started work on a number of projects, including resetting of the cap stones along the edge of the fountain in the North End park south of Hanover Street.
National Public Lands Day on the Greenway
Our thanks to the seventy volunteers who came out and worked with us on Saturday, September 28th as part of the annual National Public Lands Day, which draws hundreds of thousands of volunteers to parks nationwide on the fourth Saturday in September each year.
Fall Blooms still strong
There are four varieties of fall blooming anemones on the Greenway, and they are all looking good right now. The white flower here is Anemone ‘Whirlwind’. The classic, slightly small, October colored blossom is the Helenium ‘Mardi Gras, also known as Sneezeweed. These will bloom August through September, and on into October.
The Addition of an Orchard
Orchards have been an important part of the American landscape since the 17oo’s, and many historic apple orchards can be found throughout New England. Orchards usually have more than just apples; we have 10 kinds of fruit in our small Dewey Square Orchard. Apples Nearly all apples are cultivated using a technique called grafting. […]
What is this plant?
“What is this plant???” is a question our Horticultural staff hears daily. And we love telling you! We keep careful records of what is planted in our gardens, but we haven’t quite been able to share that wealth of knowledge with everyone yet. Until now.
One Good Elm Deserves Another
A Valley Forge Elm Tree was installed in the southern North End Park this week. This is meant as a companion to the big Elm in the northern North End Park.
North End in Bloom
An amazing display of roses and hydrangea in bloom in the North End planting bed on the north side of Sudbury Street.
Wharf District Council Community Workshop Breakout Recap
This post highlights the input and feedback that we received from attendees at our Wharf District Council Community Workshop on Tuesday, June 4th, 2013. Thanks to all those who attended and gave us their thoughts…
Rings Fountain Work Completed
On Monday, April 29th, our maintenance team of Bob, Nick, Tom and Ray, with help from a few others, completed the project to clean and repair our pride and joy, the Rings Fountain, for the summer season.
Working with Volunteers on the Greenway This Week
We have a number of volunteer workdays scheduled during this week bookmarked by Earth Day (on Monday, April 22nd) and Arbor Day (on Friday, April 26th). It’s a busy time on the Greenway, with daffodils in full flower, trees and plants budding or showing great spring color and lots of work to complete. Before we […]
