winter garden

It has been a year like no other before for the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill family and everyone around the world.

In late winter of 2020, we were finishing up our fiscal year by celebrating the busiest year in the Garden’s history. Our successful Orchid Street Art Show was winding down. The earliest spring flowers were emerging. And we were weeks away from breaking ground on an exciting new garden space. We were ready for a banner year.

But the world was changing quickly. We canceled all programs on March 11, 2020, and closed to visitors completely a few days later. Like so many others, we were unsure how long we would remain closed, but hoped it might just be a few weeks.

As the days and weeks passed, and everyone learned more from public health experts, we realized we were amid our longest closure in our 34 year history. But, much like a zoo, ours is a living museum, with plants to care for 365 days a year; our horticulture staff braved uncharted territory by tending to our priceless collection throughout the pandemic.

Our iconic daffodil field, with more than 25,000 flowers, is one of the most inspirational spring sights in New England. We quickly determined we couldn’t let these joyful blooms go unseen. To show our appreciation for their courageous efforts and bring some happiness to their days, we connected with Worcester hospitals and delivered hundreds of cut daffodils to front line employees to display in their work areas.

Like so many other businesses and nonprofit museums who were losing income, we faced tough decisions such as staff layoffs, not filling open positions, taking out loans, and freezing salaries. Every part of our operations was touched by the pandemic and our supportive Board of Trustees helped us trim our budget and brainstorm what our public operations would look like when we reopened. Our mission was always at the forefront of our minds and guided our decisions. In an extraordinary show of support, the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill community (individual donors, foundations, and trustees) generously supported our Garden Resiliency Fund, ultimately giving $1.2 million to support us during a challenging year and to establish a solid foundation to rebound quickly once it was safe to do so.

We reopened to members on June 1, 2020, and the general public on June 8 – with limits on capacity and an in-depth plan to keep staff and guests safe. We sensed that New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill might be a place the community could recharge and escape the challenges of remote working and learning. Studies have shown the physical and mental health benefits of being outdoors and close to plants, and we knew we were in a position to help the public cope with the loss, loneliness, and grief we were all experiencing. New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill’s reputation as a safe place to visit, with staff committed to meeting or exceeding all public health recommendations, grew across the region. New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill was the place to be when going places wasn’t easy.

Every staff member contributed to the Garden’s success.

  • Our Reopening Task Force stayed on top of ever changing conditions and guidelines.
  • Our front line workers in visitor services and the Garden Shop put on brave faces to cheerfully welcome the public back.
  • Our events team used their creativity to devise cheerful outdoor exhibits like Mythical Creatures; Gnomevember; Yeti, Set, Go; and Yarnstorm.
  • Our facilities team did an extraordinary job ensuring indoor spaces were sanitized and following the evolving guidelines.
  • Volunteers stepped up to help in so many ways, including harvesting more than 1,000 pounds of fresh produce from our Vegetable Garden to donate to Worcester food banks.
  • Our private events team created a magical intimate ceremonies experience.
  • Our horticulture staff reconfigured our conservatories to provide a one way path through, just one of the many extra efforts our gardeners and horticulturists made to ensure our displays looked better than ever.
  • Our education department dove into virtual programs and created safe in person learning opportunities.
  • Our advancement department inspired our community to support the Garden Resiliency Fund.
  • And while we were saddened guests couldn’t gather for the traditions our famous Night Light festivities, we were able to create a new socially distanced evening experience called Autumn Illuminated that was well-received and establish a rainbow lights tunnel on Worcester Common.
  • Every person who works at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill contributed to our organization successfully weathering such a difficult storm.

We are incredibly grateful that so many people of all experiences visited, became members, made meaningful gifts, and purchased items at our Garden Shop (including much sought after seeds throughout our newly created online store). It was a wonderful symbiotic relationship: We provided a place to find joy, peace, and hope, while guests kept our organization strong and helped ensure this amazing garden will thrive for generations to come.

Now a year later, those earliest spring blooms are re-emerging. Somehow they are more beautiful than ever before. More inspiring than ever before. Maybe after this difficult year and dark winter, we just appreciate them more. Maybe nature is reminding us that seasons change, life persists, the world keeps turning. Construction of that special new garden has resumed. Improvements to the Garden’s entry experience are underway. Dormancy is over; there’s so much growing to do.

New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill is emerging from a year like no other perhaps stronger than ever, more resilient from the lessons learned during the previous year’s crucible and from the new relationships forged during challenging times. Our commitment to making the world a better place for people and plants is more urgent than ever. Together, we have much more to accomplish.