While photographing window boxes I also came across some great small courtyard gardens, Boston has such great old buildings. There are shared spaces between the houses (squares) that have huge old trees and places to gather. Often grass and benches, sometimes with shrubs to provide privacy. These are all the garden that some of these houses have access to. Several of the bigger houses had courtyards in front of them and many were wonderful serene small garden spaces.
This garden has a lovely sitting area for the times when, even though there can’t be much sun with the tall buildings on either side, it is warm enough to sit outside. The days were hot while I was there and evenings were lovely and warm with no coat needed.
Most of these fabulous gardens were fenced off from the street with ornate black iron fences. This area of Boston, just beyond Boston Commons, is one of the oldest in the city. Originally an area where statesman and writers lived it is now home to a variety of families along with some long time wealthier residents.
The details in this garden are lovely in their simplicity. The use of repeated white and green in the flowers and leaves along with the specimen arisaema and other unusual plants give it a calm quiet respite. It has a sophistication in planting that is in keeping with the house while not being busy. I will have to say I saw so many lovely hostas without any holes in them I’m thinking they don’t have slugs or snails there.
There are a few splashes of pinky red that stand out. The tri-colored beech- fagus sylvatica ‘Argenteo Marginata’. with Athyrium niponicum pictum, Japanese painted fern was stunning in the soft rain soaked air. A soft fuzzy light was filtering through the clouds and rain to make the pictures soft and fuzzy also.
Even very small spaces can entice a gardener to dig in the dirt.
The streets are narrow in this area also with very little parking and permits required for residents. There was the feeling of hushed quiet just a few steps from the bustle of downtown. This is one of the famed cobblestone streets.
I spent a great deal of time walking in Boston. It is a great way to see the city, meet people, and get a sense of the surrounding gardens and neighborhoods you walk through. Do you think you could live in a large city like this? Would you have to have enough space to garden?
I lived in Massachusetts for 50+ years, and gardened there for 20 or so years. You’re right, there are few slugs or snails, and what there are, are very small. Nothing like the honking monsters we get here now in the PNW. It sounds like you enjoyed your time in Boston. I lived in a nearby town for many years, but seldom ventured into the city. I need more space to garden, and couldn’t take the crowds.
I would agree. It is hard for me to imagine living so closely to other people (altho they are nice people). I need space to put something in the ground