The wooden pillars were the result of an early phase of organizing and integrating the garden membership through a design that reflected a new set of cooperatively agreed upon rules.

We installed posts and notched pillars at the same time we removed all the makeshift fencing and replaced it with a uniform set of posts and wire to designate the boundaries of the individual plots, the central pathway and upper pathway along E. Berkeley and the vertical connecting pathway system that was covered by wood chips that were free from arborists.

We also installed two gates to represent the East and Western predominant cultures in the garden and the metaphorical and literal coming together of the two! 

The western gate was basically a white rose arbor on the Tremont end and the Shawmut end had a “Chinese type gateway” both designed and built by artist Wenti Tsen. 

The pillars were to be painted red at the top to guide your eye down the spine of the garden and was the color of good luck for the Chinese. The smaller pillars were to serve as the identification of the individual plots with both the plot number and the name of the gardener which was carefully recorded on the base map when they signed up and paid their dues and signed the garden agreement stating the new rules in english and Chinese.That way everyone would know who was keeping up their plot and who was “lazy” and needed to be reprimanded. 

This concept was arrived at through multiple discussions with translators and Mr Yee as the broker and primary leader of the Chinese gardeners at the time in the 1980’s on into the early 90’s

City Year did all the work with the guidance of Carpenter/builder Linda Leseyna (now at Boston Building Materials Coop) The major clean ups of that era and removal of the makeshift fencing was the product of multiple volunteer projects- from individuals in a pre release program with Mass half way houses, students from Harvard's GSD, of course the gardeners themselves and other groups from corporations, private schools , etc. 

Finally, the space between the pillars and posts was designated for flowers ONLY to limit vegetable encroachment by individual gardeners back into the central pathway to increase their personal growing space. The flowers were for the community and to be a visual statement of beautification to share. 

Every year we would receive a truckload of flowers from Mahoney's and they would get a tax credit for every plant!

 

The garden is generally closed from December 1 until March 1.   

We close the garden in the winter for the safety and security of you the gardeners, and the garden itself.  With no one gardening in the cold months, we lose our ‘eyes on the garden’ – meaning people can come in and vandalize or misuse the garden, and no one is around to see such illicit activity.   This month we had a homeless person living in the garden, who went unnoticed for a week.  To keep our garden property safe, and to keep people from coming in and drinking, doing drugs, or setting up camp in the garden, we keep the gates locked at all times to keep visitors out during winter months. 
 
The Tremont, Shawmut and East Berkeley gates all lock with your garden keys.  The Alley gates are permanently locked closed.  We have reinforced the East Berkeley fence gap while we await final fence repair. 

We also ask that you do not enter the garden after snow has fallen.   The sun can melt snow during the day, which refreezes at night, making the garden paths icy and treacherous.   Should you slip and fall, you could go undiscovered for hours.   For your own safety, please keep out of the garden once snow begins falling.  

As always, if you see any illicit activity in the garden, please call 9-1-1 to report the activity to the police (617-3434-911 from your cell phone).  Remain on scene to let the police in (if need be) and email garden leadership so we know something has happened in the garden.    If you call police, the garden address is 500 Tremont, and 215 Shawmut Ave. (depending on which end of the garden you see activity).  

• You can donate on line by going to our Network for Good web site. Enter Berkeley Garden in the Designation field.
• You can send a cheque to BNAN, 62 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02110-1016. Put Berkeley garden in the memo field.
• For larger donations (or questions) contact BNAN Vice President Vidya Tikku via email or 617-542-7696