[4] The town of Boston granted ropemakers use of the land on July 30, 1794,[5] after a fire had destroyed the ropewalks in a more populated area of the city.

By 1804, a gravity railroad had been constructed to rapidly bring material from the top of the hill to the marsh; today, Mount Vernon no longer exists, having been completely removed to be used as landfill for the Back Bay.

By 1839, a corporation was formed, called Horace Gray and Associates, and made the "Proprietors of the Botanic Garden in Boston.

The conflict between the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was finally resolved when the Tripartite Indenture of 1856 was agreed to by both parties and passed a general vote of citizens 6,287 to 99.

[11] In October 1859, Alderman Crane submitted the detailed plan for the Garden to the Committee on the Common and Public Squares and received approval.

[12] Construction began quickly on the property, with the pond being finished that year and the wrought iron fence surrounding the perimeter erected in 1862.

The most notable statue is perhaps that of George Washington, done in 1869 by Thomas Ball, which dominates the western entrance to the park facing Commonwealth Avenue.

There was initially concern over the use of electric lamps, as it would require wires to be run through the garden, and some members of government feared that it would harm the aesthetics of the place.

In the early 20th century, baby alligators were kept in a basin near the Commonwealth Avenue entrance; they were fed live rats and mice by local residents.

[16] A flagpole stands today on the eastern side of the garden, close to Charles Street and just south of the main entrance there.

Heavy foot traffic, a multitude of plant types, the garden's historical and cultural importance, and a variety of microclimates increased the complexity of the automated system.

Although plans had long been in place to regrade this portion of the Garden, the cost of moving the amount of soil necessary (approximately 9,000 cu yd (6,900 m3), weighing 14,000 short tons (13,000,000 kg)) prevented the work from being undertaken.

Both parks have been developed for recreational and aesthetic purposes: while the Common is primarily unstructured open space that facilitate social and political gatherings, the Public Garden providing a more manicured landscape for promenading.

The greenway connecting the Public Garden with the rest of the Emerald Necklace is the strip of park that runs west down the center of Commonwealth Avenue towards the Back Bay Fens and the Muddy River.

The beds flanking the central pathway are replanted on a rotating schedule throughout the year, with different flowers for each season from mid-spring through early autumn.

[26] The Public Garden is planted with a wide assortment of native and introduced trees; prominent among these are the weeping willows around the shore of the lagoon and the European and American elms that line the garden's pathways, along with horse chestnuts, dawn redwoods, European beeches, ginkgo trees, and one California redwood.