Beacon Hill Garden Club… What if they would help sponsor the creation of a special gift to the City in honor of the Club’s 90th Anniversary? After all, the Beacon Hill Civic Association for its part sponsored a gift to the city in the form of 57 tree guards and plantings along Charles Street for their 90th, so why not the Garden Club? When the idea of a bronze Myrtle the Turtle sculpture for the Myrtle Street Playground was broached, the Garden Club was so enamored with the idea, that they immediately set aside proceeds from the 2018 Soiree to complete improvements at the playground and requested private donations from Garden Club members, which were key to the successful fundraising campaign.
Creating bronze animals that children could relate and physically interact with seemed to be a natural for local sculptor Nancy Schön the creator of the famed Make Way for Ducklings sculpture in the Boston Public Garden. Schön happily accepted the commission and created a one-of-a-kind marine sea turtle sculpture. The hope is that Myrtle the Turtle will be the joy of local and visiting children for decades to come. The Garden Club, working with the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department, coordinated all aspects of the installation. Also note other improvements sponsored by the Beacon Hill Garden Club include the installation of a historically appropriate new fence along Myrtle Street, repainting of all cast iron including the historic gas lamps, installation of tree guards, irrigation and new landscaping including native Massachusetts plants to attract pollinators and butterflies.
“We have been working very hard to complete the improvements to the Myrtle Street Playground and the installation of Myrtle the Turtle for over a year,” Miguel Rosales
The leadership of the Beacon Hill Garden Club wished to complete the project prior to the 2019 Beacon Hill Garden Tour taking place of May 16 and we have achieved our goal”.
With the improvements to the Myrtle Street Playground finishing up, an unveiling ceremony is planned for this coming Monday, May 13.
“I am very excited to welcome Myrtle the Turtle to Beacon Hill on May 13 and hope that the beautiful sculpture will be enjoyed by local children for many generations to come,” Corey said.