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 […]
Classifying Wonder: One Approach on Getting to Know the Greenway
I am not a biologist. I’m not a horticulturalist, a botanist, a dendrologist. I can only tell you so much about the pH levels in soil, or the bug crawling around in that soil, or the delicate relationship between the two. But I still really, really love Nature. Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of […]
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 […]
Green & Grow Summer Interns are Back!
The Conservancy is so excited to have our summer interns again! Joining us this year (from the left of Darrah, a Greenway Horticulturist) are: Waverly, Andrew, Humberto, and Sam. All have graduated from the Green & Grow Apprenticeship Program and Sam and Waverly both completed the summer internship in 2012. “Things have really grown, I […]
It Pays to Volunteer!
There are lots of ways in which volunteering for the Greenway Conservancy can benefit you! Here are just a few reasons to come out and join our staff in caring for the parks: Kelly, our Seasonal Horticulturist, trained our volunteers how to prune roses two weeks ago in the Fort Point Channel Parks. If you have […]
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 […]
4/2/13 North End Community Meeting Summary
Our thanks to more than 30 people who attended our North End Community Meeting on April 2nd at Fairmont Hotel in the North End. Our opening presentation is linked here and we’ve done our best to summarize the questions (and answers) as well as input from participants. From the Facilities and Maintenance Breakout, Steve Anderson, […]
What’s In Bloom
I find great delight in the surprise of a brilliant flash of red, the crisp lines of twigs swollen with next year’s leaf buds, and the soft, antler-like show of Magnolia flower buds.
Transplanting
There’s been a flurry of fall projects continuing on portions of the greenway these past few weeks focusing on drainage improvements, transplanting shrubs and trees, and turf replacement. Our Horticulture staff is been in the thick of it, working with a variety of contractors to get all of the work done. We spoke with […]
National Public Lands Volunteer Day
Our first National Public Lands volunteer day on Saturday, September 29th on the Greenway had a rainy start, but by the time volunteers began to arrive at six different locations to dig into their tasks for the morning, the rain had departed and we had a cool, overcast day to tackle the mountain of work laid out by our horticulture and maintenance staff.
