Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JUnE 13, 2025 Saugus Gardens in the Spring Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener T oday is Friday the 13th! Probably it’s best to stay close to your garden to avoid any bad luck today. Many plants are having a good year, with bearded irises (Iris germanica) still opening new blossoms, and Siberian iris (Iris sibirica) also still in bloom all around town. This is one of the prettiest times for the herb gardens around the Appleton-Taylor-Mansfield House at the Saugus Iron Works. Several varieties of common peony (Paeonia lactiflora) are in bloom along the small flagstone path; tall spires of false indigo (Baptisia australis) and shorter spikes of catmint (Nepeta faasenii) and common sage (Salvia officinalis) are just a few of the plants in bloom there this week. Purple flowering gas plant (Dictamnus albus purpureus) has spikes of nearly white flowers with dark purple veins in the petals. Its flowers have a faintly lemony scent. Most of the plants in these gardens are not palatable to wildlife, either because of strongly scented foliage or unpleasant tasting and slightly toxic oils in the leaves and stems. Tomorrow, June 14, is Flag The five-pointed petals on each blossom of blue star show where this plant got its name. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) Day. The American flag was adopted by Congress on June 14, 1777. The design remains essentially the same, although more stars have been added as the number of states has increased. The original design had 13 stars and 13 stripes to represent the original 13 colonies. Among the star-shaped blossoms blooming this month is one that seems especially appropriate to represent the “stars and stripes”: The native plant threadleaf blue star (Amsonia hubrichtii) has five pointed petals that start out pale blue and fade to white. It is very resilient, thriving in sun or part shade, and is one of the last to droop from drought. This species is also known as Arkansas blue star, and it grows in mountainous areas of Arkansas. Several closely related species, including the eastern blue star (Amsonia tabernaemontana), also have star-shaped pale blue flowers in June. The leaves are wider on this species. Its wide range includes Massachusetts, Mock orange flowers usually have four petals, but one out of the blossoms on this shrub at the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site has five. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) although it is more commonly found wild in the southern states. In addition to the charming flowers in early summer, the bright yellow fall foliage is another welcome sight in the fall garden. Amsonias are members of the dogbane family (Apocynaceae), and members of this family have a slightly toxic and unpleasant tasting sap, which makes them unpalatable to rabbits and other animals that might eat the tastier plants in the garden. Mountain laurel (Kalmia latiMountain laurel variety ‘Minuet’ is a dwarf evergreen shrub with intriguing June blossoms. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) folia), sometimes called calico shrub, is an evergreen shrub native to the eastern United States and fairly common in much of New England. It is the state flower of Connecticut. If you drive westward on the Mass. Pike, you are likely to see many of these shrubs in bloom, most of them with white flowers, although they can also be varying tints of pink. These shrubs can reach 20’ tall or more, which places them more in the realm of trees as far as height goes. Some of the most popular cultivated varieties are dwarf forms, which usually stay below 5’ in height, a more useful size in most gardens. One of the most beautiful varieties is the dwarf form ‘Minuet’ with burgundy banded white petals. Its average size at maturity is 4’. In our area mountain laurels thrive and can bloom well in shade. Gas plant is an old-fashioned perennial blooming in the herb garden at the Saugus Iron Works this week. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) A very fragrant flowering shrub that is blooming at the Saugus Iron Works near 230 and 232 Central St. and in many gardens around town this week is the mock orange. This shrub got its common name from the fragrance of the blossom, which is similar to the scent of orange blossoms, although the two are not closely related. Common mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius) is the best-known member of the genus and often produces over a hundred blossoms at once on a mature plant. Typical flowers have four white petals, but every now and then you will find a blossom that has five petals. Out of the hundreds of blossoms on the mock orange shrubs at the Iron Works, I found only one with the extra petal when I visited last Sunday. Mock oranges (Philadelphus spp.) are members of the hydrangea family (Hydrangeaceae). Editor’s Note: Laura Eisener is a landscape design consultant who helps homeowners with landscape design, plant selection and placement of trees and shrubs, as well as perennials. She is a member of the Saugus Garden Club and offered to write a series of articles about “what’s blooming in town” shortly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was inspired after seeing so many people taking up walking. Blue star (Amsonia hubrichtii) is blooming in the garden of Dee LeMay. (Photo courtesy of Dee LeMay)
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