Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, June 19, 2020 Saugus gardens in the pandemic Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener Y ou may have noticed that three trees in front of the Saugus Public Library are blooming now. They might look somewhat familiar, since they are close relatives of the flowering dogwoods (Cornus florida) we saw blooming around town last month. Two of them are in fact hybrids between flowering dogwood and the Asian species kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa). The third tree, the farthest to the right, is a pure kousa dogwood. If you look closely you can see the difference: Kousa’s white bracts are pointed at the ends, while on the hybrids some bracts are pointed and others slightly indented as they are on flowering dogwood. There is also a slightly pinkish tinge to the hybrids’ bracts that is absent on the kousa. One of the dogwoods was donated by the Saugus Tree Committee. Like two kousa dogwoods near the Town Hall Annex, it had been raised from about two inches tall by Margery Hunter in her backyard, and it was over five feet tall when it was moved to the KOUSA DOGWOOD: There is a story behind efforts to straighten out this tree after it was first planted outside the Saugus Public Library. (Courtesy photos to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) library lawn. Soon after being planted, it blew over in a storm. A library board member called the Saugus Tree Committee to let them know. Some members of the Committee, including Nancy Prag, Ann Devlin and Margery Hunter, straightened it back up, but some roots had been broken and they could not get it to stay. While they were still holding it up, Joyce Rodenhiser walked by and they mentioned they needed something to stake the tree up – Joyce went home and came back with a ski pole! That ski pole held the tree up for most GIFT OF THE COTTONWOOD TREE: Fluffy “snow” blowing through the air or sometimes collecting on the ground makes people notice this tree in late June. of the season until the tree had developed enough new roots to stay standing on its own. Kousa dogwoods and the hybrids became popular initially because they are resistant to a fungus disease which attacks our native flowering dogwood, but at least part of the reason they continue to be popular is that they bloom in summer, when people are more likely to be enjoying nice weather outdoors. Not all the plants we notice The Chelsea Commons 1100 Revere Beach Parkway Chelsea * 617-466-2098 * Artisan Flat Bread Pizza * Neapolitan Pizza * Fresh Pasta Dishes * Barbeque * Sandwiches * Calzone * Salads * Italian Style Buffet Catering ~ Local Delivery ~ OPENING SOON! michaelgsrestaurant.com * michaelgscatering.com are actually in gardens – some are in the woods or even growing wild along the side of the road. Eastern cottonwood or necklace tree (Populus deltoides) is a type of poplar often seen in open woods and damp areas near streams, ponds and retention basins. It is not often planted in gardens because it doesn’t have a showy flower or fantastic fall color, decorative foliage form or edible fruit. In previous centuries it was sometimes planted as a windbreak, since it is a fast grower. In 19th century Nahant the hybrid poplar known as Balm of Gilead was planted to alleviate strong winds blowing away the soils, until the “cotton” produced at flowering time became a nuisance itself. Cottonwood grows wild in most of eastern North America, and there is another widespread poplar species, black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa), in the western part of the continent. People walking or driving near these trees will be aware of its presence in late June because of the fluffy “snow” blowing through the air or sometimes collecting on the ground. Like milkweed and dandelions, the small seeds get transported far from the parent tree by lightweight “fluff.” Despite the resemblance to cotton, poplars are not related to cotton plants. Not all cottonwood trees produce the fluff – male and female flowers are on separate trees so while male poplars produce pollen earlier in the spring, which may exacerbate allergies, it is only the female trees which produce seeds with their accompanying fluff. Joyce Rodenhiser, walking on the track at Belmonte School this week, noticed quite a bit of it from the trees behind the school, and an isolated puff of it passed by as I was driving around the rotary recently. Quite a bit of it is still on the grass beside the track, some still attached to the remnants of necklacelike catkins that produced it. If you see this stuff float by, look up – cottonwoods often grow quite tall, and I noticed two big trees between the rail trail and the track at Belmonte, extending above the oaks and maples growing around them. It’s impossible to let June go by without talking about the flower most often associated with this month – roses! There have been beautiful roses in town for several weeks, and we can hope to continue seeing some of them for months to come. Editor’s Note: Laura Eisener is a landscape design consultant who helps homeowners with landscape design and plant selection and placement of trees and shrubs, as well as perennials. She is also a member of the Saugus Garden Club and offered to write a series of articles about “what’s blooming in town, since so many people have taken to walking the streets in their neighborhoods as a way to get some exercise and get out of the house!”
11 Publizr Home