The Wolcott Cutler Memorial Garden

A Quiet Oasis in the City

Tucked behind the brick walls of Saint John’s Episcopal Church, you’ll find a small forest garden. In the summer, it offers shade and a cool breeze; in the fall, a taste of autumn’s beauty. Throughout the year, the Wolcott Cutler Memorial Garden services as a sanctuary offered freely to all who seek a moment of stillness in the midst of the city.

About the Garden

In 1939, Reverend Wolcott Cutler imagined a refuge where city dwellers could rediscover the quiet beauty of nature. He worked with landscape designer Hilton W. Long to realize that vision, creating a Forest Garden. Volunteers laid winding brick paths. Rev. Cutler gathered wildflower seeds throughout the area to plant. Parishioners even salvaged a millstone from the Mystic River and repurposed it to serve as a birdbath. The Forest Garden became a rare green space in the middle of a city neighborhood.

For decades, volunteers have given their time, their care, and their love to this space. Their work has kept the garden thriving, allowing generations of visitors, students, and neighbors to pause for a while, and feel the world slow down.

The Garden Today

The Garden has continued to evolve over the years, always shaped by that same spirit of welcome and peace. In 2022, with the support of a Community Preservation Act grant from the City of Boston, the Garden began a new chapter. Accessibility improvements brought smoother paths, a new patio, better lighting, and a graceful route to the upper terrace. By the end of 2024, with the help of CBA Landscape Architects LLC and Belko Landscaping, the work was complete.

Today, the Garden is open to all from dawn to dusk. We are pleased to share the space with community groups, nursery school classes, and many of our neighbors.

Access

The Garden is found at 27 Devens Street, behind the church building. Enter from Devens Street, follow the walkway along the Parish House, and enjoy the beauty of a place where generations before us—and many of our neighbors in the present day—have found peace.