Fenway Victory Gardens - Boston, MA - Community Gardens on Waymarking.com

In Boston, within the urban park known as the Fenway (NOT the baseball park similarly named!), is the Robert D. Parker Victory Gardens, or Fenway Victory Gardens. These gardens are a central part of the Fenway community and are well-known to gardeners across the country.

The gardens provide the residents in the Boston neighborhoods with a little personal space to grow vegetables or flowers. Some plots even have flagstones and benches for them to walk around or sit and relax. There is a relatively wide path that takes you through the heart of the gardens and several smaller branching paths. Among the gardens are several large trees several feet in diameter, providing shade. The east end is by the Boylston Street-Storrow Drive ramps, while the west end is near the intersection with Park Drive. There is a sign on the east end with the name of the gardens, and there is an information kiosk on the west end, with a memorial stone nearby.

During World War II, much of the food grown was sent to the armed forces, and the remaining portions was rationed. President Franklin Roosevelt stated that Americans should grow their own vegetables. The City of Boston set up 49 areas to grow gardens, including plots on Boston Common and Boston Public Gardens. The Fenway Victory Gardens were established in 1942.

The gardens are now named after Robert D. Parker, who was one of the original organizers of the garden and continued to garden there until his death in 1975. He was also an opponent to development of the Fenway Victory Gardens for other purposes. Because of his efforts, the Victory Gardens in the Fenway not only is the last remaining gardens from the WWII era in the city, but also only one of two remaining in the U.S. (Wikipedia article on Victory Gardens lists the Dowling Community Gardens in Minneapolis, Minnesota, too).

Membership to the Fenway Garden Society, which runs the gardens, is open to Boston residents only, and there is a waiting list. Applications are available on the web site.

The gardens are private, and, unless you are specifically invited in to admire them, stay out of them and stay on the main paths.

Parking - well, you are mostly on your own there. There is on street parking on the Fenway road and on some streets, but other areas are marked for residents only. The best way to the gardens is to take the Green Line Trolley to either the Hynes Auditorium Station and walk west on Boylston Street 3/4 mile to the location, on your left after passing over the bridge.

Source:

Fenway Victory Gardens Web Site (see link below).

Wikipedia (Victory Garden)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_garden

Address: P.O. Box 230038 Astor Station Boston, MA United States of America 02123-0038 Location: The gardens are within Boston's Back Bay Fens, a park that is in the Fenway neighborhood and follows Muddy River. The gardens are on the north side of the river, not far from the intersection of Boylston Street and the ramps to Storrow Drive, and also near where Park Drive splits from Boylston Street. Hands-on or educational programs: Yes - see website for more information Community garden's website: [Web Link] Telephone number: (617) 267-6650 Parking: Not Listed

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