THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FrIDAy, JUly 3, 2026 Page 7 Saugus Gardens in the Summer Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener M any gardeners have been inspired by the 250th anniversary to add patriotic decorations to their gardens this year, but one of the most spectacular is the Lucey home on Summer Street. Three window boxes easily visible from the sidewalk and street have been decked out in red, white and blue flowers and embellished with flags and other seasonal decorations. Maureen says she usually prefers a more pastel color palette, such as pinks and yellows, but this year for the semiquincentennial she decided to go for red, white and blue. The theme is continued in pots near the front walk, flowers in the beds and wreaths on the door. The hummingbirds have even been invited to the party with a bright red trimmed hummingbird feeder above one of the window boxes near the driveway. As I mention nearly every 4th of July, true blue flowers are not always easy to find. The spreading plant we usually call annual lobelia (Lobelia erinus) comes in several shades of true blue as well as purple, pink and white. Its five petals are not all the same shape, as two upper ones are shorter than the three lower petals. They are very popular with pollinators, but tend to be avoided by deer and, usually, rabbits. Something did come along and eat the ends off my lobelias that had trailed beyond their pot. I did not catch the culas pots and beds The front window box at Maureen Lucey’s home displays flags and a “God Bless the USA” sign among the flowers. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) prit in the act. In very tropical climates, this plant is perennial, but our Massachusetts winters are far colder than this species can endure. While it flowers best in a sunny location, it prefers moist but not soggy soil, so is likely to require more frequent watering than companions like petunia, million bells and geraniums enjoy. Some of the containers also include a bright scarlet sage (Salvia coccinea), often simply called red salvia. It was one of my grandmother’s favorites, and she would plant it every summer in her backyard garden off of Makepeace Street. Like most species of sage, this long blooming one from South America has a scent in its leaves that discourages rabbits and deer from making it a meal. Deadheading faded flowers will encourage more blossom production as summer goes on. While most varieties available are bright red, it also can have pink, white, magenta or burgundy colors. Some varieties like the hybrid ‘Roman Red’ can get as tall as three feet in bloom, but most are one to two feet tall. One variety, Salsa Scarlet Bicolor, only reaches one foot tall, but it has red and white blossoms in the same flower spikes. Red and white geraniums (Pelargonium hortorum) also make appearances in Maureen’s window boxes, but by far the most abundant are mini petunias (Petunia spp.), million bells (Calibrachoa spp.) and perhaps intergeneric hybrids between the two (Petchoa spp.). These fairly explode from all three window boxes as well Bright blue lobelia adds a cooling shade of true blue to the patriotic pots in front of the Lucey home on Summer Street. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) were once considered types of petunias but have for several decades been considered separate genera due to differences in DNA. Both are in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) and share some chemical similarities to tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). Bright blue lobelia adds a cooling shade of true blue to the patriotic pots in front of the Lucey home on Summer Street. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) The bright reds among the flowers help attract hummingbirds to the feeder near a window box along the driveway. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener)
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