Featured Garden: Boston Fenway Victory Garden

My father comes from a family of great gardeners and landscapers. Early on I would follow him in the garden and soon requested my own small square of land to plan and grow my own vegetables. During high school and college I worked on a berry farm in my home town and had the opportunity to be around mounds of fresh produce (to this day one of my secret skills is being able to pick out the best fruits and veggies in market). After grad school, I settled in the Fenway section of Boston and immediately secured a plot in the Fenway Victory Gardens (just across the street from my home). It has been close to 10 years that I have been community gardening, which is one of the hidden treasures of Boston.

This is a tough one! I would have to say dahlias - they never disappoint. The varieties are amazing and they produce for months. The only drawback is that in the cold north we have to remove them from the ground in the fall, store them in a cool/dry place during the winter, and then put them back in the ground in the spring. Luckily, my parents are generous enough to help with the seasonal process and keep my precious dahlias in their basement until the weather warms up again.

I like the mixture of veggies, herbs, flowers and fruit (I just added grapes and raspberries this year) - and a cafe table setup with an umbrella. What's a garden without some space to enjoy it and share it with family and friends?

I am an on-the-go type of person, so I find it challenging to balance my garden time with my other varied activities. As I have been committing more and more time to my garden, I find myself dedicating more time to staying locally in the New England area during gardening season.

You'll have successes and failures - even master gardeners do. Mother Natures is in charge and conditions can vary from year to year - that's part of the challenge and fun!

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