Community Gardens
Branching Out
We enhance the beauty and environmental health of Newburyport by dedicating a portion of our annual fundraising proceeds to planting and maintaining seven public gardens throughout the city. Through volunteer effort and thoughtful investment, we bring our mission to life in shared community spaces.
Waterfront Gardens
Location
Waterfront Trust Park
In 2015, the Society partnered with the Waterfront Trust Commission to renovate and care for three garden beds in Waterfront Trust Park, just behind the Firehouse Center for the Arts.
Members redesigned and refreshed these spaces to enhance their beauty while preserving views for visitors and summer concert audiences. Lush plantings — including hydrangea, hosta, astilbe, ornamental grasses, and groundcover — complement the park’s natural setting.
Building on this success, a third garden was thoughtfully restored in 2016. Additional perennial plantings such as Golden Spirea, ‘Caradonna’ Salvia, Cranesbill, Heuchera, ‘Brit-Marie Crawford’ Ligularia, and ‘Endless Summer’ Hydrangea continue to bring seasonal color and texture to the space.
Low Street
Location
Rail Trail Overpass
Located on Low Street beneath the Rail Trail overpass, this garden lies within the surrounding “environs” of the trail. In September 2011, members cleared the area—removing weeds that had grown as tall as five feet—to create a new planting bed.
Using a mix of shared plants from their own gardens along with select additions, members transformed the space through a collaborative “potluck” planting effort.
Today, the garden offers motorists a welcoming scenic view, with daffodils bringing vibrant color each spring. The garden was terraced and more than one hundred pollinator-friendly plants were added, further enhancing its beauty and ecological value. Ongoing plantings and care continue to enhance this site year after year.
Trough
Location
High Street
The High Street water trough, located at the intersection of High and Auburn Streets, is enhanced with seasonal plantings and holiday decorations throughout the year. Originally situated in Market Square, the trough was moved to its current location in September 1923, replacing an earlier horse drinking fountain. Today, it remains a charming feature just outside Bartlett Mall Park and a visible reminder of Newburyport’s history and community spirit.
Riverwalk
Location
Rail Trail
Children’s Garden
The Cashman Children’s Garden was inspired by the tragedies of school shootings in our country. In 2024, we cleared a long neglected circle of weeds and under the guidance of Jean Berger, a member of the Hort and owner of Green Jeans landscaping, planted a sustainable garden with native plants that could weather our harsh winters. We purchased a water barrel that the city fills and from which we carry water to the garden.
Our mission was to inspire peace and harmony to the souls of children as they play on the adjacent playground. May they grow up in a world where they can still enjoy color and innocence. However, from the reactions of passerbys as we weed the garden, we have inspired adults as well.
Created in 2013 the Rail Trail bird bath area, a three trunked river birch tree and boxwood, was planted to complement the granite bench and bird bath. Sitting low to the ground, a simple design was executed due to poor soil quality and the lack of water available in the area. This pretty site, between Low Street and the train station near the horse sculpture Clyde has grown more lovely as the plantings mature.
Location
Cashman Park