Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JUnE 28, 2024 Saugus Gardens in the Summer Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener W ith the glorious Fourth of July arriving this coming Thursday, there are quite a few gardens which are showing off some red, white and blue decorations. In many places the flower colors are picking up the theme, with patriotic planters, tricolor flower arrangements out on the table at the barbecue and shrubs that echo the colors of the flags and bunting on porches and walls. True blue is one of the most sought-after flower colors, and in my supermarket bouquet of red gerbera, red carnations, white daisy mums and “blue daisies,” all the flower colors are natural except the blue daisies, which rely on some kind of blue food coloring for their bright color. Florists can use a sprayed-on color or the coloring can be drawn up by the stems’ vascular system by using a nontoxic color in the water. Spray paint will be a bit more durable, as the drawnup color may fade if the flowers are then placed in a vase with non-colorized water. However, there are some flowers in our gardens that do have a natural blue hue, though few of them, except hydrangeas and delphiniums, have long enough stems for most traditional vases and cut flower arrangements. Pale blue dwarf morning glory (Evolvulus ‘Blue My Mind’), scarlet petunia (Petunia ‘Supertunia Mini Vista Scarlet’), dark blue lobelia (Lobelia ‘Laguna Dark Blue’) and white calibrachoa (Calibrachoa ‘Minibells White’) make up a mixed planter bowl that will keep the patriotic colors going all summer long on my front steps. The dwarf morning glory (Evolvulus spp.) is an uncommon annual flower, but some hybrids are available in nurseries which can be very nice additions to gardens and containers. There are about 100 species in this genus, and most are from South America. They differ from our more familiar morning glories (Ipomoea, Convolvulus, Calystegia spp.) in that the dwarf morning glories do not climb at all, and their five petals are more separate, not completely fused into a funnel. The foliage also is very different, as these leaves are oval, not heart shaped or angular. True to the trait which gives the family (Convolvulaceae) its common A patriotic bouquet on an outdoor table sets the scene for a holiday breakfast. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) Pale blue dwarf morning glory and white calibrachoa can make up part of a patriotic color scheme, or when used without red can be a soothing combination with seashore vibes. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) Dark blue lobelia is the perfect plant for tiny flower pots in a red, white and blue scheme. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) name, dwarf morning glories open in the morning and close up at night. The hybrid ‘Blue My Mind’ is a bright blue with a white star-shaped center. It is a beautiful color in the sunshine but will close up before the fireworks start. Hydrangeas are looking spectacular this summer. Blue varieties (Hydrangea macrophylla, Hydrangea montana and hybrids) are blooming a bit earlier and certainly more abundantly than in most recent years. On many plants, it looks like every stem has a flower cluster. The rainy weather last summer produced a lot of buds for this year, and the mild winter ensured the buds remained viable until bloom time. While last week the hot days caused flowers to wilt by afternoon, this past weekend’s frequent sprinkles kept the Lina Tollis of Lynnhurst has set her New Guinea impatiens against a spectacular blue hydrangea. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) plants well hydrated throughout the day – perfect conditions for blue hydrangeas. Lina Tollis’s garden in Lynnhurst looks very festive, as she has set delightful pots of Saugus colors – red and white New Guinea Impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri) – against a backdrop of her beautiful true-blue hydrangeas. Nearly 20 years ago, when the original ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangea was introduced, it made growing blue hydrangeas north of Cape Cod much more rewarding than in the past. Until then, most blue hydrangeas would bloom only 50% of the time, and you might go several years without seeing a single blossom if the winters were too cold. There was a successful end result of hybridizing the very bud hardy white flowering species (Hydrangea arborescens) with the popular blue A bowl of red, white and blue flowers decorates a front porch with patriotic colors. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla). The variety ‘Endless Summer’ can bloom on both old wood (buds formed last summer) and new wood (buds formed this spring), and now there are many other new hydrangea varieties which share this excellent characteristic. If your hydrangea is over 20 years old, it is not going to perform as reliably and there may be years when there are no blossoms at all. New Guinea impatiens are among the most popular annuals in recent years. Their flowers come in a wide range of colors, and the foliage has an interesting texture as well as sometimes having other colors in the leaves. Like the hydrangea beside them in Lina’s garden, they prefer morning sun and afternoon shade, so they can be successful companions through the season. Many container gardens rely on blue shades of annual lobelia with its abundant small flowers to give necessary color to red, white and blue gardens. They can play the starring role in tiny flowerpots, which are ideal for sitting on narrow window sills or can even be planted in teacups at each place setting on the table. The lobelia plants in the picture above (Lobelia ‘Laguna Dark Blue’) came in six packs, which is why their root system is still able to fit into the small pots. 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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