Become a Gardener

A community garden with a dirt path lined by flowers and greenery, surrounded by a wooden fence. The backdrop features residential buildings and a partly cloudy sky.

Membership in the Fenway Garden Society is open to all City of Boston residents. We welcome new gardeners throughout the growing season. If you are a City of Boston resident and are interested in membership, add your name to our waitlist today.

Our wait list time is currently over two years, subject to change depending on capacity and garden turnover.

FAQs:

  • It all depends on the design of your garden and what types of plantings that you choose! Shade gardens tend to be lower maintenance than full sun gardens. We ask all new gardeners can commit to tending to their plots at least once per week for a few hours, as otherwise weeds and invasive species are more difficult to manage. Please note that per the FGS Guidelines & Regulations, gardens must be kept tended, in repair, weeded, and free of trash throughout the growing season.

  • Current Boston residents are eligible for a plot at the Fenway Victory Gardens. If you were a prior FGS gardener, it is important that you were a member in good standing when you departed the organization. 

  • Annual FGS Regular Membership Fee: $40 per plot
    Annual FGS Senior Membership Fee (Age 65 and over): $25 per plot

  • When gardens become available, we invite people at the top of our waitlist to a new gardener orientation session, which includes a review of our Guidelines and Regulations and a tour of our common areas and available plots. At each orientation, interested gardeners are assigned a priority number based upon when they joined our waitlist, and choose their garden in order of priority. Anticipating no-shows, we may invite more gardeners than we have gardens, which results in disappointed applicants who will remain on the waitlist and be invited to the next session. Some applicants may choose to remain on the waitlist rather than accept an available garden that is not to their liking.

  • All gardeners are required to keep their plots in compliance in accordance to the FGS Guidelines and Regulations regarding:

    1. Gardeners

    2. Structures/Furnishings

    3. Planting Restrictions

    4. Maintenance

    5. Compost/Disposal Material

    Failure to comply with any of the Guidelines/Regulations may result in revocation of membership.

  • Membership in this historic community comes with the responsibility of park stewardship. As an all-volunteer organization, we depend on each member under 65 years of age (per FGS Guidelines & Regulations) to support our goals each gardening season. It is the responsibility of each member to satisfy their individual service requirements.

  • Over the course of the gardening season, we invite interested gardeners to join us on a Community Participation Day (or CPD). CPDs are unique opportunities to learn about gardening and our community as we work side-by-side with new and veteran gardeners and volunteers on any number of projects: turning compost, building gates and fences, weeding, mulching our trees and flower beds, building raised beds, raking, weeding and general cleanup.

    Please see here for upcoming CPD dates.