The Kelleher Rose Garden, nestled in the Back Bay Fens behind a tall yew hedge, derives its beauty and character from the dedicated work of a Parks Department gardener and small army of volunteers who devote their Tuesday evenings to its care.
Designed by Arthur Shurcliff and built in 1931, the garden was an immediate success. Over the years, however, neglect and budgetary cuts affected the garden. “It was still, in its own way, beautiful, but there was no educational value,” said Kit Ganshaw, a rose horticulturist for the Arnold Arboretum, member of the Conservancy’s Rose Garden Advisory Committee, and volunteer.
In 2001, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, in partnership with Boston Parks and Recreation, convened a group of rosarians (including Kit), landscape architects, gardeners and area residents to plan for the garden’s restoration, a 10-year project whose vivid results are on display now in the form of a wide variety of healthy roses, an irrigation system, recut beds and pathways, and educational signage.
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