Know when to mow? Toby Wolf and Normand Helie have coauthored a short article for the Friends of the Public Garden describing how to manage urban lawns for resilience in drought.
Did the Big Dig deliver?
In today's Boston Globe, Anthony Flint asks whether, ten years after its completion, the Big Dig has delivered on its promises. In his candid assessment, he saves his highest praise for the Big Dig's creation of the Rose Kennedy Greenway:
“The greatest success of the Big Dig is this: It established a new landscape for the city to flourish around. Buildings once overlooking a clogged highway now have a beautiful park at their front door. Buildings that had little value are now suddenly on a gold coast."
We've had the privilege of working on the Big Dig and the Greenway for nearly twenty years. Under various affiliations, Toby Wolf designed the Greenway’s Fort Point Channel Parks, Urban Arboretum, and Dewey Square Park, and over a mile of its streetscapes. Even when the project ended, his work continued, through Wolf Landscape Architecture's recent designs for new plantings on behalf of the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy. Ten years on, thanks to their innovative management, the Greenway continues to deliver.
Continuity and Innovation at the Public Garden
Work is complete on the third phase of the renovation of the Boylston Street Border in Boston's Public Garden. Three quarters of the border's 900-foot length now benefits from improved drainage, reinvigorated plantings, and inviting places to sit.
The project's phased implementation has allowed our team to improve each year on the work that came before. This year we fine-tuned the planting palette, adjusted the soil mix, revised the transplant specifications, improved the way benches are installed, and eased curb installation by providing the granite quarry with full-size templates. These changes helped achieve an improved outcome at no additional cost.
Construction of Phase 4 will begin in September 2016. To see project updates, to become a member, or to learn how to sponsor a bench or a tree, please visit the Friends of the Public Garden online.
Greening the Garden
The second phase of our renovation of the Boylston Street Border in Boston's Public Garden is nearly complete. Working with landscape architect Deb Howe, arborist Norm Helie, and civil engineer John Cusack, we have moved and planted trees and shrubs, improved drainage, and made space for two more benches. In the weeks ahead we'll add more perennials and bulbs, and the last tree will be planted early next spring.
The multi-year rejuvenation of the entire 900 foot length of the the Border is a project of the Friends of the Public Garden, who have posted a project update here. The Friends work in partnership with Boston's Parks Department to care for the Garden, the Common, and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, and membership is open to all.