Located on East Berkeley Street, between Tremont Street and Shawmut Avenue, the gardens’ 150 plots were first cultivated in the mid-1970s. In 1992, ownership was transferred from the City to the South End/Lower Roxbury Open Space Land Trust (SELROST), a volunteer-led nonprofit that maintained 18 open spaces in Boston’s South End.
Today, visitors can expect to see a wide variety of plants and planting styles ranging from Asian to English to kindergarten to South End eccentric. The gardeners speak English and Chinese (Cantonese and some Mandarin), as well as Creole, Spanish and Portuguese. Volunteers translate meetings and all garden documents into Chinese.
In July of 2012 SELROST voted to merge with Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN). In 2015 The Trustees (the Trustees of Reservations) completed acquisition of all BNAN Community properties. Berkeley Garden is now part of the Trustees family of community gardens, urban farms, and open spaces throughout greater Boston and trustees properties state-wide.
Use the links above to see a more detailed history or explore our garden in depth
