Who We Are
Paul Gore Beecher Street Community Garden is a well-established, rustic community garden in a residential area of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, MA. Paul Gore Street Community Garden, Boston Urban Gardeners and the Southwest Corridor Park community gardens are all located nearby.
This green space is located on a spacious corner lot where a large church once stood. When the church burned down in the early sixties, the Boston Natural Areas Fund (now Boston Natural Areas Network or "BNAN") acquired the property for use as a community garden. The first gardeners who broke ground created an idyllic, urban escape. To this day, gardeners unearth bricks and chunks of coal, reminders of the architecture that once occupied the now pastoral site.
Over 50 gardeners currently maintain plots here -- growing flowers, fruit, vegetables, and community. In addition to individual plots, the garden contains communal plantings of raspberries, blueberries, herbs and flowers. Truly a cooperative endeavor, each member contributes annual dues which pay for water, compost, hoses and supplies and a number of community work hours based on plot size.
Gardeners share this tree-lined space with many critters. Snakes, salamanders, skunks, opossum, and all manner of insects and birds find our garden a peaceful retreat in the city. At night, bats do their part to keep the insect population down.
Still owned by BNAN, the garden's organizational structure is framed by a working set of bylaws and is managed on a day-to-day basis by elected Steering Committee volunteers.
Visitors are welcome. Visitors to the garden are asked to respect the following guidelines: Keep dogs on a leashes and children at your side, and refrain from touching plants or produce without asking permission.
For more information about our garden and/or to be placed on our waiting list for a garden plot, please contact BNAN at info@bostonnatural.org.