THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JUly 10, 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 I t is always intriguing when a plant appears that the gardener has not planted. In this case it was clearly not a matter of forgetting what I planted, because this one came up in the middle of the lawn. It was easy to recognize, even a year before blossoms appeared, because I had planted many hollyhocks in the garden in the past, usually with disappointing results, and the somewhat maple-shaped leaves are distinctive. There are about 80 species of hollyhock (Alcea spp.), mostly from Eurasia, and some have been popular garden flowers for centuries. The common hollyhock (Alcea rosea) was being grown in European gardens at least since the 16th century and was mentioned in William Turner’s herbal in 1551. While some of the scientific names have changed over time, and many breeders have worked at hybridizing to develop new colors and shapes, such as double or ruffled blossoms, common hollyhock is the most widely available in nurseries. This has been my most successful hollyhock summer so far. Not only has the volunteer in the lawn blossomed generously, I bought a few more in different colors, which are also in bloom right now. Our dry summer is a contributing factor to the success of all these plants, because the low rainfall helps prevent the spread of fungus spores, including rust, which has affected my plants in other years, sometimes killing them off even before they bloomed. I have kept the garden watered, but by keeping the water from getting on the leaves as much as possible, I have tried to keep any rust spores in the environment from settling and sticking to the foliage. Since there are some roses and bee balm planted near some of the hollyhocks, all these plants benefit from aiming the hose toward the ground rather than higher up on the plants, since these all are susceptible to rust, powdery mildew and other fungus diseases. Of course, when it rains, water is going to get on the leaves. Hollyhocks are well known for producing seeds that may come up some distance away from where the original plants were planted, so the one in my lawn is probably a descendant of one planted a few years ago in the nearby garden bed. While I don’t remember the varieties I planted in the past, the one in my lawn looks like pale hollyhock, also known as Turkish hollyhock (Alcea biennis). Last year it just had a few leaves and was only about a foot tall, but it is at least 6 feet tall this year, with pale pink flowers that have a pale green center. I surrounded it with metal rabbit fencing wrapped around a tomato cage to protect it from both the lawnmower and the rabbits. The sturdy surrounding also protects it somewhat from wind, but hollyhocks have sturdy stems and usually resist breakage even in windy weather. It started blooming a couple of weeks ago, starting with the lowest buds and working its way up, as most flower spikes do. There are still some buds near the top, so this one seems likely to bloom well into the next week. Over the years I had planted numerous hollyhocks. This year I planted a few more, including a common hollyhock variety called ‘Mars Magic’ (Alcea rosea ‘Mars Magic)’. This one has large vivid red flowers but does not grow very tall; it’s only 3-4 feet’ tall but it looks nice next to the red bee balm (Monarda didyma ‘Jacob Kline’), which is flowering beside it. This tall Turkish hollyhock is making a dramatic statement in the middle of my lawn this summer. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) ‘Mars Magic’ common hollyhock and a matching red bee balm add drama to the sunny garden. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener)
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