By Anna Marden

For just $30 a year, you can enjoy nature and relax or grow a vegetable garden right in one of Boston’s urban neighborhoods. The Fenway Garden Society invites new members to plant in the Fenway Victory Gardens, a community garden and city historic landmark in the Back Bay Fens.

The society is the volunteer organization that maintains and protects the Richard D. Parker Memorial Victory Gardens, more commonly known as the Fenway Victory Gardens.

Tim Horn, president of the Fenway Garden Society, says “We want to welcome people to the new year.”

Michael Gallagher, the society’s vice president of communications, said there is no waiting list for garden plots this year. Any Boston resident can become a member.

“We have members of all ages, from college students to the elderly,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher said the society also welcomes the disabled. The park features raised beds that are “accessible to wheelchairs and those who cannot bend over,” he said.

The membership fee is affordable so anyone can join.

“At $30 a year and $15 for seniors, the garden offers entertainment and relaxation for the whole season comparable to the price of one night at the movies,” Gallagher said.

The Fenway Victory Gardens were established in World War II, when the country faced food rationing and President Franklin D. Roosevelt encouraged people to grow “victory gardens” to produce fresh fruits and vegetables in their own yards.

The city created public victory gardens in various locations, including Boston Common, the Public Gardens, and in the Fens, according to the Fenway Garden Society Web site.

The Fenway Victory Gardens are the nation’s only remaining victory garden that has been continually maintained since World War II, Gallagher said.

Skip Searles, a lifelong Boston resident and 14-year member of the Fenway Garden Society, said the society came into being, in part, to protect the land from developers.

According to the society’s Web site, Richard D. Parker, the garden’s namesake, was instrumental in creating the society and helping the society to prevent developers from taking the land.

“Thanks to (Parker’s) efforts, the gardens are now an official Boston Historic Landmark,” the Web site says.

“As long as there is one workable garden, then it’s ours,” Searles said. “Everyone was trying to grab that property.”

He listed Boston Red Sox and the Howard Johnson hotel chain as entities that have tried to purchase the garden land.

The gardens cover seven acres in the Fens, Gallagher said. The land was sought by developers because of its size and its location in a prime Back Bay location.

The land provides about 500 garden plots for about 300 gardeners, Gallagher said. He said many members have two plots, which according to the garden guidelines is allowed if they have “served the garden in a substantial way (and) there is no waiting list.”

Gallagher said he enjoys relaxing in his garden plot, which is just a few blocks from his real estate office; he is the principal broker of FlatHound Realty at 31 Peterborough Street.

“The gardens are a little oasis in the middle of the city. Once the trees bloom, the only way you know you’re in the city is because you can see the Prudential Building,” he said.

Gardeners are required to follow regulations set by the Fenway Garden Society. It lists rules in a Guidelines and Regulations handout, including no consumption of alcohol, no grilling without a permit, no loud music, no harassing other members.

Gardeners must attend at least one semiannual meeting and one all-park cleanup day a year. They must maintain their gardens throughout the season.

The society has a system of volunteer officials who help make sure that the gardens are maintained and the rules are enforced. Area directors and section coordinators provide a support system for gardeners.

Members of the society use their gardens for a variety of purposes. Some grow vegetables and fruits in the original victory garden spirit. Growing produce is a way of saving money for some people.

“Times are tight,” Gallagher said. He listed other uses as flower gardens, Zen gardens, water gardens with coy ponds, or combinations of the different types. Each plot is approximately 15 x 25 feet.

Gallagher and Searles said they use their gardens as back yards – with grass, flowers, trees and shrubs. Searles said a main reason he keeps a yard garden is because it’s a place for his dog.

Gallagher also said many people enjoy watching wildlife they can see in their gardens. He listed snapping turtles and birds, including a red tail hawk, as some species that can be seen in the victory gardens.

“You get feelings of being out of the city since you can see so much nature,” Gallagher said.

Membership applications are available online.

Anna Marden is an undergraduate student in the Northeastern University School of Journalism.