After last weekend's tropical rain and the first warning of frost in our area, gardeners began moving the Public Garden tropical plants to their greenhouse winter quarters in Franklin Park.
Standing guard over the plants is gardener Josh Altidor. You can read more about him and his love for his job in this Boston Globe article. He told the Globe, “I want the design to be eye-catching.” He certainly caught our eyes this year. (And, from the number of photos in our files of his flower bed designs, he caught our camera lenses too!)
Bed-by-bed the plants were lifted and set in neat rows on the back of Parks Department trucks for the ride across town.
Once upon a time, the Victorian tropical plants would have been walked to the greenhouse that was once located on the Beacon Street side of the Public Garden. The 1862 Public Garden photo above is from the Boston Public Library's collection.
Here's a photo (circa 1924) of the palm greenhouse at Franklin Park also from the Boston Public Library's collection.
Be ready for a change of scene on your next visit to Boston's gem of a park. It's time for the fall foliage and mums to take over the spotlight. And, before you know it the caretakers will tuck in the flower beds for winter.
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2016 Penny Cherubino with historic photos courtesy of the Boston Public Library as credited above.