Tag: Boston Parks
What’s in Bloom Now: Lady’s Slippers
Pink lady’s slipper orchids (Cypripedium acaule), May 14, 2012, Lexington, Massachusetts. There are lady’s slippers growing on public land all around Boston, blooming roughly from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day. Look for shady woodlands with acidic soils. Forests with plenty of white pines, oaks, blueberries or huckleberries are good bets. Try the Middlesex Fells, Stony Brook Reservation, [...]
Plans for the Greenway: Markets by Memorials?
In the last week, two different groups have offered up, shall we say, contrasting visions for the Rose Kennedy Greenway. One, the Armenian Heritage Park at the intersection of Atlantic and Cross Street, is almost complete, according to the North End Waterfront. Meanwhile, a block away, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Mass DOT) is considering four different proposals for Parcel 9, [...]
Fire: Coming to a Park Near You
Forest Fire (USDA) Massachusetts is burning. Over the weekend fires ravaged three acres in Lexington, four acres apiece in Milford and Worcester, twelve acres of the Lynn Woods, and 50 acres in Brimfield. The entire state was under a red flag fire danger warning from the National Weather Service earlier this week—and some of Boston’s parks could be next to catch the flames. These wildfires aren’t a [...]
The Problem with Boston’s Private Parks
The problem with Boston’s private parks is that they don’t belong to the public. Witness the current tussle over the rooftop park at 4 Cambridge Center, Cambridge. The owner, Boston Properties, wants to build an 18,000 square foot connector from 5 Cambridge Center—which you earth-dwellers may know as “Legal Sea Foods”—across the top of a [...]
The Esplanade Beyond the Ferris Wheel
When Boston’s nonprofit The Esplanade Association came out with a 100-page report Esplanade 2020:A Vision for the Future, Boston’s media outlets were quick to add their incisive, original reporting to the debate on the future of Boston’s parks. Look at all the different headlines! Back Bay Patch: Ferris Wheel Part of Esplanade’s New Vision Boston Herald: [...]
Meg Muckenhoupt to speak at Old South Meeting House in Boston
Union Park Press’ own Meg Muckenhoupt, who authored Boston’s Gardens & Green Spaces, is no stranger to giving thought-provoking, informative talks. We’re thrilled to announce that she will put her talents to good use at the Old South Meeting House at a talk hosted by the Boston Preservation Alliance on Wednesday, February 8th at 5:30 [...]
Dogs in Parks! Running Fast!
All right, I’ll admit it: most of you probably aren’t spending much time in parks nowadays. It’s cold and dark, and when it gets warm the ground is muddy. Eew! Far better to stay clean, warm, and motionless in front of a screen somewhere. That’ll please the ghosts of our Puritan forebears. I can hear [...]
Meg Muckenhoupt’s Chronicle Debut!
Union Park Press author Meg Muckenhoupt made her television debut on the September 30th episode of WCVB’s Chronicle HD , where she discussed Boston’s “hidden treasure” parks and gardens. In the episode, Meg shows where to find some of Boston’s most relaxing—and little-known—green spaces amid the hustle and bustle of city life. She even walks [...]
Chronicles of a Chronicle Shoot
Here at Union Park Press, we are BIG fans of Chronicle HD, a local nightly news magazine show. So it goes without saying that we were pretty excited to work with a Chronicle producer in recent weeks to put together a “last gasp of summer” episode featuring hidden treasures of the Boston area. It just [...]
The Hurricane We Missed (in 1938)
My god, it was a disaster! Mount Auburn Cemetery lost 811 trees, almost 16 % of their collection! The Public Garden was ravaged! Sadly, the Arnold Arboretum lost more than 1500 trees as well—though almost all the mature trees that collapsed were duplicated elsewhere in the collections. Oh, come on—you didn’t think I was talking [...]
