HORTICULTURE

Natural beauty, planted by design.

Trustees public gardens are a living documentary of Massachusetts horticulture and design traditions. Gardens are perennial sources of joy that offer masses of color, texture, spatial arrangement, and diversity that surprise and impress through the seasons. Beyond impressive aesthetics, gardens are imbued with stories—of the impacts of people on place, and of the balance inherent at the threshold of the designed

Our ambition is to elevate and transform these horticultural spaces. Each of our gardens blends great scenic beauty, important ecological habitat, and plantings that range from rare native species to one-of-a-kind cultivars. All of our efforts, whether introducing a raft of new flowers or performing routine maintenance, are the result of deliberate decisions around a garden’s unique historical and cultural context. And while a garden’s needs vary dramatically from the high-pH soils of the Berkshires to the temperate climes of Martha’s Vineyard, our staff employs light-on-the-land practices across our horticultural portfolio, from the latest and most innovative methods to time-tested cultivation techniques.

To honor and preserve the rich histories of our gardens, and share them with new, diverse audiences. For some, they are the blooming backdrops to community events and festivities. For others, they are classrooms for absorbing skills from our expert horticulturists. Our living collections provide a window into the personalities whose vision shaped these landscapes. Our gardens are more than an impressive array of horticultural specimens: they are statements of personal beauty set within a Massachusetts ecosystem that is vibrant, vital, and constantly in flux.  

Public Gardens

The public gardens protected and cared for by The Trustees are a living documentary of Massachusetts horticulture and design traditions.
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Revitalized Gardens of The Trustees

Discover the revitalized public gardens and historic houses at two special places on the North Shore.
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City Natives

Find plants for your home or community garden plot at this vegetable seedling nursery with demonstration gardens, which also serves as the base for our Boston Community Gardens..
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