Boston, MA

Ask Dave Epstein: When will lilacs bloom in Boston?

Published

2 years ago

April 30, 2024

Ask Dave Epstein: When will lilacs bloom in Boston?

Meteorologist Dave Epstein is our go-to person for pressing weather questions on everything from winter blizzards to summer droughts. He’s also a horticulturist, meaning he’s an expert in anything that grows leaves and flowers. GBH’s Morning Edition asked our audience for weather and gardening questions, and Epstein graciously answered them on the air.

Have a gardening or weather question for meteorologist Dave Epstein? Tweet him @GrowingWisdom, email us at thewakeup@wgbh.org, or text 617-300-2008.

What flowers are blooming around Boston right now?

Flower lovers can chart the progression of spring with the blooms they see lining gardens, parks and arboretums, Epstein said.

Early April brings some bright yellow daffodils. As the month goes on, there are later daffodils and jonquils.

As we ring in May, Epstein said to keep an eye out for tulips.

“And there’s still some flowering trees like dogwoods are starting to come on at this point, which is really nice,” he said.

After that, he said, look for lilacs, azaleas and rhododendrons in bloom.

His tip: Most people will look for lilacs on Mother’s Day weekend, which this year lands on May 12. It’s typically a busy day at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, the Frederick Law Olmsted park that celebrates the fragrant blooms with an annual Lilac Sunday, coinciding with Mother’s Day.

“But actually the week before, which is next weekend, I tend to really like because a lot of them will be open by then,” Epstein said.

What should go in the garden in early May?

Epstein is preparing onion plants and leeks, he said. He also suggested potatoes.

But gardeners looking at warmer-weather crops, like tomatoes, peppers and basil, should hold off for now, he said.

“I would hold off on tomatoes for another 7 to 14 days,” he said. “No, there’s no frost, but the cool wet pattern kind of promotes disease and the plants don’t really get established. So you really want to wait to put those warm weather crops and tomatoes, peppers, basil, especially until mid to late May.”

Those who wait could be rewarded with a speeder crop, he said.

“If you did some research and planted stuff May 1st and planted stuff May 21st, the May 21st stuff would catch up, if not surpass the earlier stuff because the earlier stuff just lingers,” Epstein said. “So don’t rush it.”

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Boston, MA

Organizers reverse route of South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Published

2 hours ago

February 19, 2026

Press Room

Organizers reverse route of South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade

The South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade will look a little different this year — because it’s going in reverse.

For 2026, organizers are flipping the parade route to honor America’s upcoming 250th birthday and to spotlight the local history behind Evacuation Day, the holiday that shares the March 17 date with St. Patrick’s Day.

A new route through Southie

The parade will now begin at Andrew Square, travel through the traditional South Boston streets, turn right onto West Broadway and end on A Street. The reversal is meant to symbolically “rewind” the historical moment the parade commemorates.

“I feel like it might be a good change,” South Boston resident Rachel Farley said, calling the parade one of the best days in the neighborhood.

Why reverse the route? Evacuation Day

Beyond the green outfits and festivities, Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is also a celebration of Evacuation Day — the day in 1776 when British troops withdrew from Boston Harbor during the Revolutionary War.

Historians say the day marked a major turning point.

“This is a really important moment in the Revolutionary War,” said Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai, chief historian at the Massachusetts Historical Society. “It basically ends the first phase of the Revolutionary War.”

There’s no better place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Parade than in South Boston.

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The British retreat came after American forces strategically moved cannons to Dorchester Heights, forcing the British fleet to abandon Boston Harbor.

“Some historians want to call Evacuation Day Massachusetts’ Independence Day,” Wongsrichanalai added, “because it is the day in which the British forces sailed out of Boston Harbor and basically gave up control to this colony, which they had been in charge of for a long time.”

New family-friendly zone on M Street

Organizers are also introducing a designated family-friendly area along M Street to address past issues and make the parade more welcoming for all ages. The change aims to curb unruly behavior and keep the event enjoyable for residents, families, and visitors.

Southie resident Raegan Bailey says the day often involves large crowds and long lines.

“A lot of people spend it pregaming at people’s houses, to the bars — the lines are around the corner for every single bar,” she said.

When and where

This year, the story begins at Andrew Square — even if the parade ends elsewhere.

The South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade steps off on Sunday, March 15 at 11:30 a.m.

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Boston, MA

Why a Virginia mom is running the 2026 Boston Marathon: ‘Stories can save lives’

Published

14 hours ago

February 18, 2026

Press Room

Boston Marathon

“I run for my mother. I run for awareness. I run so others know they are not alone.”

Elizabeth Ayres is running the 2026 Boston Marathon. (Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Ayres)

By Annie Jonas

February 18, 2026 | 3:28 PM

1 minute to read

In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon athletes share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston. Looking for more race day content? Sign up for Boston.com’s pop-up Boston Marathon newsletter.

Name: Elizabeth Ayres
Age: 45
From: Henrico, Virginia

I run because running saved my life.

When I was 11 years old, my mother died by suicide. That loss shaped my childhood and followed me quietly into adulthood. For many years, I carried grief without knowing how to release it.

This Braintree mom is running Boston for Mass. Eye and Ear
This music teacher is running the Boston Marathon for Parkinson’s research

At 36, after immigrating to the United States without speaking English, working in house cleaning, and raising two children, I discovered running — not as a sport, but as a lifeline. What began as short walks turned into 5Ks, then marathons, and eventually ultramarathons. With every mile, I found strength, healing, and clarity.

Running taught me discipline and resilience, but more importantly, it gave my pain a purpose.

In 2026, I will run the Boston Marathon in honor of my mother and in support of suicide prevention through the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). I run to help break the silence around mental health and to remind others that asking for help is an act of courage.

As a mother, immigrant, and runner, I want my journey to show that it’s never too late to begin again. Movement can heal. Stories can save lives. And hope can grow from even the deepest pain.

I run for my mother. I run for awareness. I run so others know they are not alone.

Editor’s note: This entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.

Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.

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Boston, MA

Long-term housing is the only way to avert tragedies like the one at South Station – The Boston Globe

Published

1 day ago

February 18, 2026

Press Room

Long-term housing is the only way to avert tragedies like the one at South Station – The Boston Globe

Let’s honor Carvell Curry’s memory

This winter, as temperatures plunged into single digits, those without shelter were barred from South Station, a place that once provided refuge in extreme conditions. As more people become homeless, communities across the state have opened warming centers and set up make-shift beds. While these basic accommodations are critically needed to save lives, as a Commonwealth, we are not confronting the root of the problem: a chronic lack of affordable permanent housing with support services.

The tragic loss of Carvell Curry’s life as described in Shirley Leung’s powerful column (“This should never happen again,” Business, Feb. 9) is the result of a systemic failure to provide the resources desperately needed by our most vulnerable neighbors. People without proper housing are literally fighting for their lives during this brutal winter. And our current policies and practices are failing them.

We must commit to creating housing coupled with essential wraparound services. Yes, people need emergency shelter tonight, but to end their homelessness they need stable housing. Tackling the housing crisis requires resolve and sustained funding to prevent these crises in the first place. As the federal government pulls back its investment in housing across the country, Massachusetts must do more to resolve this crisis here at home.

We can honor Curry’s memory by making life-saving investments in stable housing and support services. Otherwise, as Leung reminds us, we are just “waiting for the next Carvell Curry.”

Joyce Tavon

Boston

The writer is the CEO of the the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance.

We must green-light more recovery campuses

Former Mayor Walsh is correct that nobody wants to take responsibility (“A ‘disgrace’: No one in power wants to own the problem after a homeless person died outside South Station,” Business, Feb. 16). However, it was Mayor Walsh in 2014 who deemed the bridge to Long Island unsafe and, in the blink of an eye, closed it, cutting off access to the recovery services that were then offered on the island.

This city and state need more psychiatric beds and supportive housing. There are hundreds of acres of state-owned land occupied by closed state hospitals and schools. Why is there reluctance to create more supportive housing there?

The Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain was once the site of 18 tiny houses with services built a few years ago, which are now all shuttered. Why? The Boston Medical Center also wanted to build housing and recovery services on the campus. I believe the BMC would have run it efficiently, effectively, and safely, but that plan has been put on indefinite hold due to NIMBY issues — despite the nearest neighbor being a public park.

Some campus projects have been nixed because of the stigma associated with placing vulnerable people together, reminiscent of institutions. But I think letting those who are mentally ill and/or addicted die in the streets should cast a stigma — not on those who are ill but on the society that should be caring for the neediest among us.

Laura Logue Rood

Boston

The writer is a clinical nurse specialist, retired director at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, and former director of nursing at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York.

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