In 2021, WCG expanded our mission from solely managing community garden plots to building out and maintaining a more robust pollinator pathway among public land. These pollinator gardens are represented by butterflies on the map.

  • What's a pollinator pathway? Why do they matter?

     A pollinator pathway is a connected network of pollinator-friendly gardens, native plantings, and green spaces that provide continuous food and habitat for bees, butterflies, birds, and other beneficial insects.  


    By linking together backyards, community gardens, parks, schoolyards, and streetscapes, our plantings create "stepping stones" that help pollinators safely move through neighborhoods and urban areas.

  • How can I do my part to support them?

    Even small actions — planting native flowers, reducing pesticide use, or adding a few host plants — can become part of a larger, connected habitat that benefits both wildlife and the community as a whole.


    Join us at our events to support our public pollinator gardens, roadside gardening, the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway, and other pathway-sustaining projects!


    Learn more about them below.

OUR Public Pollinator Gardens

WCG currently maintains four public pollinator gardens in Watertown. Explore each of them below.

A bright pink coneflower in the foreground with bright yellow flowers behind.

At Fillipello Park

Location: Filippello Park Butterfly Garden


Description: Three (3) raised garden beds surrounding the splash pad containing native and ecologically beneficial plants. Plant species were selected to attract butterflies, caterpillars, bumblebees and native bees rather than honeybees and wasps due to the proximity to children's play areas. WCG volunteers planted this garden in collaboration with the City of Watertown DPW in Fall 2021.

  • What plants live in this garden?

    Garden Bed 1 (north of splash pad):

    • 4 milkweed species (Asclepias)

    Garden Beds 2 and 3 (southeast of splash pad):

    • golden alexander (Zizia aurea)
    • goldenrod (Solidago)
    • asters (Aster)
    • beebalms (Monarda)
    • hyssops (Agastache)
    • coneflowers (Rudbeckia, Echinacea)
    • beardtongues (Penstemon)
    • allheals (Prunella)
    • wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
    • violets (Viola sororia)
    • calliopsis (Coreopsis)
    • little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
    • northern dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)

At Knowles Delta

Location: Intersection of Belmont & Lexington Streets


Description: A small raised bed with low-growing plants on the traffic delta in between Belmont, Lexington, and Orchard Streets. WCG volunteers added a variety of native plants to the existing garden in collaboration with the City of Watertown DPW in Fall 2022.

  • What plants live in this garden?

    Plant species include:

    • 3-toothed cinquefoil (Sibbaldiopsis tridentata)
    • wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
    • Common selfheal (Prunella vulgaris v. lanceolata)
    • Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
    • Plantain pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia)
A raised brick circular garden bed, with many small seedlings laid out for planting. Two gardeners smile toward the camera.

dept. public works

Location: 124 Orchard St, Watertown, MA 02472


Planted in 2021 near the DPW sign; includes natives as Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium), cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata), golden alexander (Zizia aurea), and asters (Aster).

A view of a bump-out, with many diverse plants.

On Boylston Street

Location: Intersection of Boylston, Howe & Hazel St.


Description: MassDOT originally created this garden in 2019, and was adopted by Watertown Community Gardens for continuing maintenance in Summer 2022. 

  • What plants live in this garden?

    Plant species include:

    • Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)
    • Virginia Rose (Rosa virginiana)
    • Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
    • Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata)
    • Narrow Leaved Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)

At the Watertown Council on Aging

Location: 31 Marshall St, Watertown, MA 02472


Description: Situated behind the building, surrounding the patio. WCG volunteers added numerous native plants to an existing garden space behind the senior center in Summer 2021.

  • What plants live in this garden?

    Added plant species include:

    • Blue Stem Goldenrod (Solidago caesia)
    • Barren Strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides)
    • Heart-Leafed Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)
    • Native sunflowers 
    • Native roses
    • Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
    • Sundrops (Oenothera fruticosa)
    • Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
    • Hyssop (Agastache)
    • Chokeberry (Aronia)
    • Bayberry (Myrica)
    • Asters (Aster)
    • Beardtongue (Penstemon)
    • Turtlehead (Chelone)
A picture of a flower bed in front of a deck attached to a blue and white building.

Roadside Gardening for Pollinators

We can "green up" our city’s unused spaces, and create valuable wildlife habitat. By planting native plants in the city-owned planting strip or bump-out (curb extension) in front of your own residence, you'll help migrating and local birds, butterflies, and bees.

Download WCG's step-by-step guide to planting in strips and bump-outs.

Other Roadside Gardening Resources

  • Read the Department of Public Works' Planting Strip Guide that highlights important city guidelines, native plant suggestions, and lay-out designs. This and more useful information is available at the Forestry Department's webpage.
  • View a presentation on how Melinda Dennis, a Watertown Community Garden board member, converted the bump-out in front of her residence on Hosmer Street into a vibrant pollinator garden.


If you do plant, please let us know. We would love to hear from you!

Naturally Managed Gardens

Life-Friendly Garden Tours

Are you concerned about chemicals in the home and garden? Or thinking about ways the green spaces in Watertown could benefit you and the environment? Or would you just like to visit some wonderful gardens? We’d love for you to join our annual tour celebrating life-friendly home gardens: spaces that haven’t been treated with chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers for at least a year.


This beloved tour was founded by Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment. In recent years we have co-hosted the tour with the WCPJE working group, Friends of Bees. We’re thrilled to welcome their team to WCG as we continue our shared commitment to supporting pollinators and healthy gardens for a thriving local ecosystem.

Learn more >

Watertown-Cambridge Greenway Stewardship

The Watertown-Cambridge Greenway is both an important pollinator pathway and a community treasure. Completed in 2022, it connects East Watertown to the Fresh Pond Reservation in Cambridge, providing a critical link between significant pollinator habitats at the Charles River, Mount Auburn Cemetery and Fresh Pond Reservation.


With this new green area comes stewardship to maintain a safe habitat for us and the wildlife that sustains the environment. Our Greenway volunteers work to remove invasive plant species, plant native plants, remove litter, and provide ongoing care to this critical link.


Learn more about the Greenway and volunteering >

POLLINATOR PATHWAY EVENTS

We hold fun events with major impact. Our events include activities like:

  • Public garden cleanup
  • Planting native plants
  • Weeding and removing invasive species (such as black swallow-wort)
  • Knowledge-sharing sessions, tours, and demonstrations for life-friendly gardening


Our upcoming pollinator pathway events are listed below.

Related Articles

People gathered outdoors around a table in a park, chatting near a path and leafless trees.

“Greening the streets” one planting strip at a time, part 1

May 30, 2026
by Marilyn Salvas and Melinda Dennis
Friends of Bees logo

Watertown Community Gardens Welcomes Friends of Bees!

May 19, 2026
by Pam Phillips  As you may know, for the last several years, Friends of Bees, a working group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice, and the Environment (WCPJE) , have been meeting and collaborating with WCG’s Pollinator Pathways Committee. Together we have held the Life-Friendly Garden Tour, maintained public pollinator gardens, led pollinator walks, and more. Together we support Watertown's Mayor's Monarch Pledge . Together, we educate about and advocate for our native bees, Monarch butterflies and other pollinators. This year, Friends of Bees are making that togetherness official by merging with the Pollinator Pathways Committee. Twelve years ago, Watertown Citizens asked “What is happening to the bees?” and formed a new working group, Friends of Bees. Friends of Bees learned about the many challenges bees face, especially pesticides and habitat loss. Today, we welcome Friends of Bees to a new home with Watertown Community Gardens. The Life-Friendly Garden Tour, with its rich history of 28 chemical-free garden tours over nearly twenty years, will also be hosted by WCG. WCPJE has always served as an incubator for community groups. Over the years, many initiatives started and fostered under WCPJE later matured into independent organizations expanding the circle of like minded activists. Watertown Community Gardens was one such group. Friends of Bees thanks WCPJE for an abundance of enthusiasm and support as we branch off, while maintaining our role in the larger Watertown community. To stay in touch with Friends of Bees and the Life-Friendly Garden Tour please visit Watertown Community Gardens at our new website . When you sign up for the WCG newsletter , make sure to indicate your interest in pollinators and eco gardening. Details of the 2026 Life-Friendly Garden Tour will be shared in the WCG newsletter this summer. Keep buzzing!

Pollinators of Spring

April 23, 2026
By Linda Relson, with Pam Phillips Spring is a really exciting time to see the landscape coming back to life. On multiple occasions in the last couple of weeks, I've seen queen bumblebees, Bombus spp. , drinking nectar from cherry blossoms, and zooming along the ground looking for nesting sites. It’s a sure sign of the season and it lifts my spirits every time.