Public Garden Improvements
Established in 1837, The Public Garden is America’s first public botanical garden. Weston & Sampson's principals have been collaborating with the Boston Parks and Recreation Department for more than 20 years on a variety of refurbishment efforts at this much loved and nationally significant open space property. The park and much of the surrounding Back Bay neighborhood was originally constructed by filling brackish swampland adjacent to the Charles River. As a result, there have been settlement and drainage issues across much of the park.
Weston & Sampson’s work has included the removal and resetting of the granite blocks at the lagoon perimeter; a park-wide inventory of areas in need of drainage and pavement improvements; the design and installation of a complete underground irrigation system; and other miscellaneous improvements throughout the site.
As a botanical garden, the park is home to many ancient landmark trees. The construction of the new irrigation project posed a considerable challenge: install underground utilities in between the root systems of more than 100 mature trees. Weston & Sampson’s team included landscape architects and a certified arborist who provided critical construction administration and observation services throughout the project to ensure that the well being of the trees was the highest priority.