New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill is a 200-acre four season botanic gardenlocated in Boylston, Massachusetts, approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of centralWorcester in Worcester County, Massachusetts.[1]The Garden features 18 distinct garden spaces, preserved woodlands, and miles of walking trails. More than 200,000 thousand people visit New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill each year to explore gardens and conservatories that showcase diverse collections of native, ornamental, tropical, rare, and edible plants.[2][3]
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, formerly known as Tower Hill Botanic Garden, was founded in 1986 on the former Tower Hill Farm by the Worcester County Horticultural Society(WCHS), the third oldest active horticultural society in the U.S. Established in 1842, WCHS grew to be a cornerstone institution in the central Massachusetts region. For decades, from its downtown Worcester headquarters, the society held exhibitions that celebrated Worcester County’s thriving agricultural community. By the 1940s, however, the large country estates that had supported such shows began to diminish and exhibition entries declined. In response, WCHS set out to cultivate its own permanent botanic garden for the public to enjoy.[4]
The Stoddard Education and Visitors Center is the hub for visitor activities at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill. The complex houses the Farmer & The Fork café [5] and Garden Shop, as well as space for special events, art exhibitions, educational classes and workshops, concerts, and private event rentals that include weddings, corporate events, celebrations of life, and more. From the café terrace and the Reservoir Room, visitors enjoy spectacular views of Wachusett Mountain and the Wachusett Reservoir.[6]
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill features a variety of themed specialty gardens and focused plant collections. Highlights include:
includes interactive play features and is landscaped with hundreds of perennials, shrubs, trees,
and a pond of seasonal aquatic plants.[7]
beds, living walls, and plants selected for their multisensory appeal.[8]
along with thousands of spring bulbs and summer blooming perennials, make this garden space an attraction year-round.[9]
premier native plant garden. It offers visitors examples of how to create naturalistic gardens with a focus on an everblooming display that has interest in all seasons.[10]
space features sustainably grown heirloom vegetables and herbs planted in designs to inspire the home gardener.[11]
plants such as citrus, palms, agave, camellias, orchids, and more.[12][13]
heirloom apples, 250 apple trees representing 119 pre-20th century heritage apple varieties. In 2018, New England Botanic Garden began a restoration project to replace the trees in this collection, which had reached the end of their intended lifespans and were facing increased disease pressure. Using scionwood collected from trees in the Davenport Collection, Fedco Trees in Maine helped propagate new saplings which were planted at the Garden in the spring of 2021.[14]
each spring. It features more than 25,000 daffodil bulbs that, depending on the weather, reach “peak bloom” around the third week of April.[15]
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill has grown dramatically in the decades since its establishment. Just between 2017 and 2023, the organization expanded its footprint by more than 50 acres, increased accessibility of its spaces through a universal design entry way, added more accessible, ADA-compliant pathways throughout formal garden spaces, and expanded educational offerings. Roughly 15,000 adults, youth, and children attend a class or workshop at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill each year. More than 250 people support the Garden as volunteers.[16][17][18]In 2022, New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill became the first botanic garden in the U.S. to be certified a Green Zone by the American Green Zone Alliance for the organization’s commitment to sustainability and its ongoing efforts to decarbonize its horticulture operations.[19] In 2023, New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill was voted “Top Botanic Garden in the U.S.” by TravelAwaits.[20]
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