Prouty Garden
The demolition of the half acre ground level prouty garden began in december 2016.
Prouty garden. The garden opened in 1959 and has been acclaimed as a healing space by doctors and patients. While the flowers may come and go each year the trees become ever more mature and stately. The prouty garden at boston children s hospital was such a treasure and during the week of this year s earth day it provided a fragmentary piece of evidence testifying to its deep value.
The newly opened rooftop garden comprises a small patch of green space surrounded by hardscape tables and chairs along with several statues salvaged from the prouty garden. Many of the prouty garden s most beloved plants and statues will be part of the new gardens and some of the dirt from the garden will be incorporated into the new five principal gardens. The garden was featured in an article in scientific american in 2012 which documented the many benefits of hospital gardens.
The prouty is the signature event of the friends of norris cotton cancer center. Over the nearly 60 years that prouty garden has been in existence the garden itself has taken on a patina of timelessness and constancy of caring that is readily apparent to those who enter. Doctors patients and members of the public have mobilized a campaign to save the prouty garden.
The prouty garden at boston children s hospital is seen in june. All donations raised through the prouty will be used by the director of nccc to advance cancer research improve cancer treatment protocols develop strategies for cancer prevention provide supportive services for patients with cancer and their families and facilitate otherwise unfunded endeavors in cancer. The tree symbolically and perhaps in a true and real spiritual sense drew in the worst of those fears and the deepest of despair and gave back hope and.
The land is a unique mixture of mature woodland mowed fields and lush wetlands which are just a short walk from the center of town. Hospital officials chose the site as the location of a new 1 5 billion building to be completed in 2021. The outstanding feature of prouty woods is wilderness hill which rises 170 feet above the surrounding land.
In october 2015 boston children s invited patients families and staff to a celebration of the beauty healing and comfort that prouty garden has brought. Boston children s hospital is known as one of the top hospitals in the.