Shrewsbury’s Prospect Park uncovering a garden lost to time

SHREWSBURY – A park in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts aims to give visitors a place to reconnect with nature, as a nonprofit group works to uncover a garden lost to time.
Shrewsbury boasts big open spaces to get outside, like Ski Ward. But if you prefer trekking uphill as opposed to downhill, there’s Prospect Park.
“The whole park is a magical place, it’s an enormous treasure for the town,” said Bill Davis, president of the nonprofit group Friends of Prospect Park.
The 75 acres of wooded paths and trails offers a place for hikers to relax and recharge. It’s meant for passive recreation, meaning there are no playgrounds or other manicured or constructed areas.  As Davis explained it, visitors “come here for the tranquility and the beauty, the nature.”
Davis also explained that the park wasn’t always this way. “The vegetation was well over my shoulders. So we’ve been clipping and working at it for decades now, I guess.”
Friends of Prospect Park was formed in 2003 and has been reclaiming the parts of the park that were lost to nature. The centerpiece is an immaculately restored English-style garden.
“We’ve planted over 400 plants here,” said Davis.
Carpet magnate Matthew Whittall built a hilltop mansion there in 1912 but died a decade later. His widow Gertrude created the garden to remember him by. Eventually, she donated the property to the Grand Lodge of the Masons of Massachusetts. They used it for a retirement and convalescence home. The town then bought the property and the building was torn down. From there, time and nature took their toll.
“At one point, it literally was a lost garden. In some cases, it was called a secret garden,” said Davis.
The Friends have been at work revealing the garden to the public. They organize events and volunteer their time and efforts to landscape the area. Davis said they’ve only uncovered about half the garden.
“Gradually, each year we’re able to move a little further and a little further and capture more of the original garden,” said Davis. 
It’s a labor of love that has Bill and the Friends coming back.  When asked when he thinks the work will be done, he responded “the friends’ work will never be done!”