Anne Donohue
Driving by Payson Park this summer, it is hard to miss the construction going on at the park. The Recreation Department hopes that the newly renovated park will be open by the end of the year.
But on the perimeter of the construction site this summer and for years before, two older gentlemen are often seen puttering around in the bushes, pruning, weeding, mulching and planting new native plants. We’ll call them the Pruners of Payson Park.
Pruner Art Krieger moved to his house across from Payson Park in 1987. “We had a small yard so our kids lived in the park,” said Krieger.
About 20 years ago Krieger decided to plant lilacs to beautify the park.
“I didn’t ask anyone. I just did it,” he said.
And he kept doing it. Over the years Krieger and his neighbor, Terry Ray, planted, salvaged, and maintained many of the plantings.
“When kids would knock over a new tree we’d help prop it back up,” said Krieger.
Ray weeded, mulched and pruned.
“We did whatever needed doing,” Ray said.
Ray has lived across from Payson Park since 1976.
“We raised three children here and they and our seven wonderful grandchildren have all enjoyed the park. Before coming into the house for a visit, the grandkids race to the park.”
Ray has rearranged the plantings in his yard many times over the years. But Payson Park provided a much larger palette for his horticultural artistry.
“Payson Park has enabled me to expand my reach and beautify an area to be enjoyed by all. And being able to develop a new neighborhood friendship with Art is wonderful,” said Ray.
During the pandemic the pruners noticed that the hedges on the perimeter of the park had reached 10 to 12 feet and were blocking the sidewalk on busy Payson Road. Krieger, age 66 and Ray, 78, climbed ladders holding tight to sharp hedge clippers and began pruning the bushes. And they have been doing it ever since — about four times every summer.
“It’s a perpetual task, but this is the kind of thing I want to do for the rest of my life,” said Krieger.
Ray agrees. “Scratching in the soil is therapy for me,” he said.
In 2015, Krieger, a long-time environmental lawyer, took his interest in plants to a new level, earning a certificate as a Massachusetts Master Gardener. He became more focused on native plants.
“People are blind to the invasive plants around us, Kochia burning bush and Oriental bittersweet,” he said.
Kochia is a tall green bush that turns a flaming red color in the fall. It tastes like alfalfa, but is toxic to animals. The Bittersweet is a lush, green vine that strangles other plant life.
“It might look good but they are squeezing out the native plants that birds rely on.”
Krieger says he is motivated by a “desire to contribute to a beautiful place that meant so much to my family.”
“When I see a need I fill it,” he said. And he means “fill” literally.
About six years ago Krieger suggested to Ray that they ask some neighbors for donations to buy more native plants and to fill the gaps in the park hedges. Ray coined it the “Hedge Fund.”
“Yeah, I became a hedge fund manager,” quipped Krieger. The “Hedge Fund” took in about a thousand dollars.
Krieger has retired from his legal practice, but has no plans to retire from his pruning practice.
“Gardening is an expression of hope and optimism but with climate change it is hard to remain hopeful. So, I try to control what I can and make my little corner of the world a little bit better,” Krieger said.
Ray agrees with him. “I feel as though every time we meet to do something at the park we are making it nice for so many others.”
