THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021 Page 15 SAUGUS GARDENS IN THE PANDEMIC Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener O ne of the showiest flowers of June is the herbaceous peony. This has become the most popular wedding bouquet flower in recent years. It thrives in sunny gardens in temperate to cold climates. The ones we see most often are common garden peony (Paeonia lactiflora), which comes originally from China, or European peony (Paeonia officinalis). Once established, peonies requires very little care, although the blossoms can become so heavy that the plant may require some propping up when in bloom! Blooming several few weeks later than the tree peonies, early varieties may be already finished while later ones are at their peak now. Flowers may be pink, red, white, purple or yellow and may be single or double. Ants often enjoy the sweet sap on the buds and elsewhere on the plant, so they are often seen crawling on the flowers and stems. The ants do not harm the plant, and they don't provide any service in getting the flowers to open, as has sometimes been believed. You might want to give your flowers a good shake before walking down the aisle with them! They are very appealing in a vase, alone or with other flowers. Peonies have a fairly short bloom season, just a few weeks in late May or June depending on variety. Leaves may have a good fall color also – dark burgundy for red or purple flowering varieties and bronze to gold for lighter flowering forms. Peony plants are also colorful when they first emerge from the ground in spring, making them easy to recognize among all the green sprouts of other garden plants. Beautiful vegetables are growing at the community garden planted at St. John’s rectory – several of the pea and tomato plants are blooming, and the colorful mesclun (mixture of spring greens) is nearing its first harvest. The rows of early spring greens include several lettuce varieties (Lactuca sativa), spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and arugula (Eruca sativa). The young leaves have many shades of green and soft reds, due to the inclusion of red-leaved lettuces in the mix. Nutritious greens like these can be picked over FROM MY GARDEN: A bouquet of pale pink peonies. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) several weeks for delicious salads and garnishes. Later in the summer we may look forward to harvests of a wide range of tasty fruits, including apples, pears, peaches, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, but strawberry (Fragaria spp.) and another North American native, Shadblow or Juneberry (Amelanchier spp.), are the first fruits of the season to be enjoyed by both people and animals. Wild strawberries are ripening now at the Saugus Ironworks, along the nature trail and elsewhere. On many plants there may be ripe fruit, unripe green berries and newly opening flowers all at the same time. The flowers are usually white and have five petals like most other members of the rose family. The large strawberries we find in markets today are hybrids, AT THE COMMUNITY GARDEN: mesclun (mixed spring greens) nearly ready for first harvest. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) FRUIT OF THE SEASON: ripe wild strawberry at Saugus Ironworks. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) SMOKE OF ANOTHER COLOR: Darker purple “smoke” from other varieties of smoke tree. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) A SPECTACULAR SIGHT: European smoke tree at the Saugus Ironworks – almost covered in inflorescences this year – a much more abundant showing than in last June! (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) and wild ones are very small in comparison. North American strawberries (Fragaria virginiana) were familiar to native Americans and were greeted with delight by European settlers, who already were accustomed to wood strawberry (Fragaria vesca) and hautbois strawberry (Fragaria moschata), which both grew wild in central Europe. Strawberry Festivals were popular in New England at many times in history, and this is being celebrated again by the Saugus Historical Society on Saturday, June 19 with old-fashioned shortcakes being served in the Legion Hall from 10-2, and the Garden Club and other vendors on the Main Street lawn of the Roby School – a refreshing return of a tradition after last year's COVID cancellations. A walk in the Ironworks is always rewarding! The European smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria) next to the Appleton-Taylor-Mansfield House is almost completely covered with inflorescences, a much more abundant showing than last June! This is one woody plant where the flower stalks are more impressive than the blossoms themselves – the fine hairs of the flower stalks catch the light in such a way that they resemble pinkish beige puffs of smoke, and they may retain these most of the summer. There are other varieties blooming around town, some with purple leaves and purplish flower stalks, and others with green leaves but flower stalks a darker purple than those on the Ironworks’ tree. 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.
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