Boston Public Garden

The Boston Public Garden was established in 1837 to be the first public botanical garden in the United States. It is a small, rectangular parcel, bound by Beacon, Arlington, Boylston, and Charles Streets, and is comprised of 24 acres on the site of an old salt marsh.  You can see Boston Common right across Charles Street. Both Boston Public Garden and Boston Common were part of the Emerald Green Necklace of contiguous parks envisioned by Frederick Law Olmsted, but never fully realized. (We have encountered Olmsted before, as the designer of Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, and of Central Park in New York City).

Graceful willows along the bank of the lake

Central to the design is a serpentine lake, intersected by a unique suspension bridge. Mature weeping willow trees grace the sides of the lake. I can see why folks from the East frequently plant willow trees in their yards when they move to the West. They are beautiful, and would be a wonderful reminder of home (though not a good water choice in our dry Western climate). A Victorian era wrought iron fence surrounds the park.

Gum drop trees and planting bed

The lines of Boston Public Garden are curving rather than linear, reflecting the move to a more naturalistic style of gardening that was emerging. We’ll learn more about the Landscape Movement in future Gardening History posts – the style was emerging in reaction to the extravagant, manicured gardens of the Renaissance; Revolution in Europe and America; and the demands of the Industrial Age. Paths meander through the park, enabling you to stroll at your own pace (compare with the practical linear paths of Boston Common, which get you efficiently across the green belt).

HTML Tables

The garden uses bedding plants in the Victorian style – bright exotic flowers and plants in combination, and designed to be swapped out seasonally. Shaped shrubs are used, but not in the extravagant shapes or heights of the Renaissance. The park is home to a collection of native and exotic trees, including Ginkgo, Dawn redwood, elms and oaks, and many others, befitting the first American botanical garden and true to the Victorian zeal to collect plants and trees discovered all over the world.

Rose garden and fanciful clipped shrubs

My husband and I walked through Boston Public Garden on our way to see the beautiful and historic Trinity Church and Boston Public Library, and returned another day to stroll and explore the Garden. We had perfect fall weather – sunny, clear, and warm. The leaves were just starting to turn to their fall colors. This increased our optimism about finding fall colors on the next leg of our trip –  North to Vermont.

Fall colors and dappled shade

 

Boston Common

I love travelling on the East Coast. I have been to Boston, Massachusetts twice on business – once to visit the telephone company’s computer operations center, and again several years later to visit EMC’s operations center. Both times, I managed to stroll through Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden; walk The Freedom Trail; and view the USS Constitution in Boston Harbor. I also enjoyed delicious seafood, and explored the historic brick streets of old Boston, soaking up its rich history. I wanted my husband to have the same experiences, so I booked a hotel in downtown Boston.

Boston Common provides a park setting in downtown Boston.

The hotel was conveniently located several blocks from Boston Common, which is part park, part thoroughfare, and part garden. It is a large green belt with multiple crisscrossing pathways, and large, mature trees that provide deep or filtered shade, depending on the tree. The space provides room for assembling, and room for solitary reflection. One of my favorite things is the brightly painted street piano at the Boston Common Visitor Center that invites pianists of all ages and skill levels to sit down and belt out a tune. What could be more fun or more civilized than making music in the open air?

Parkman Bandstand and fall colors.

The park consists of 50 acres, and is bound by Beacon, Charles, Boylston, Tremont, and Park Streets (you can see Boston Public Garden across Charles Street). Two T stations and several bus lines provide easy access. Boston Common dates from 1634, and has been used as a cow pasture, a pre-Revolutionary War camp for the British, gallows for public hangings, and an assembly area for riots and protests. My husband and I used Boston Common to take pictures, catch our sight-seeing Historic Tours Trolley, and to rest our aching feet!

Deep shade and dappled shade on a warm fall day.

Leaf Peeping

It is called “leaf peeping” – the term for people viewing and photographing fall foliage that changes colors with the seasons, especially in New England. Last fall, my husband and I did just that – we became leaf peepers. Turns out, there is quite an industry for tracking and anticipating the best time of the year to view the beautiful fall colors in the northeastern United States. We learned that statistically, the best time of the year is between the last week of September and the first two weeks of October, sooner in the higher latitudes and later in the lower.

Aged farmhouse against fall colors

 

Our itinerary was to fly to Boston for a few days of sightseeing, drive north through New Hampshire and stay in Vermont for the better part of a week, and then drive back to Boston to fly home to the San Francisco Bay Area. We were motivated by early American history, architecture, and the legendary fall colors. Plus, I was on a quest to discover the family farm, where my grandparents, Lionel and Nina, spent three years in the early 1900s. They packed up and left their home in Rialto, California and ran the farm when two of grandpa’s younger brothers volunteered for World War I. According to my grandparents, these were some of the happiest years of their lives. They were their own bosses, and could sleep as late as they wanted (which was probably 6:00 AM)! I wanted to find out more about the area, the farm, and some of my relatives still living in the area.

Copse of trees with fence

I don’t know what the odds were, but we saw the leaves at their peak – especially in Vermont. The hills really do look like a tapestry of gold, red, orange, bronze, and green. The weather was warm and temperate during the day, and had a nice, crisp chill at night. Perfect conditions for beautiful leaves and the sport of leaf peeping.



Tapestry of color along historic Vermont 100