Over the course of several days leading up to Thanksgiving 2021, a small group of dedicated volunteers, including several FOSEL board members, braved the cold to plant nearly 1,000 daffodil bulbs and 100 hosta bulbs in Library Park. They raked leaves, removed fallen branches, dug holes and planted until the last bulb was covered. Now that spring is here, all that hard work is paying off, with the Park abloom in cheerful shades of yellow and white. Stroll by and have a look for yourself!

The relatively new tradition of planting thousands of spring bulbs in Library Park began in the fall of 2018, when FOSEL learned that City funding for the Park’s re-design would exclude plantings. Rather than leave the Park’s garden with nothing to show for the makeover, FOSEL brought in the first round of plantings that fall and watched them bloom profusely in the spring of 2019. During that 2019 summer, with the help of South End State Reps., Jon Santiago and Aaron Michlewitz, FOSEL secured $25,000 for soil improvement, perennials, an irrigation system and new low-level interior fencing as well as exterior fence repair.

Thousands more bulbs were planted in the fall of 2019 and 2020, which brought much appreciated beauty to the Park each following spring. Now, once again, as a result of the hard work last fall, the Park has come alive with color and cheer, a harbinger of hope after another difficult year.