Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 23, 2021 SAUGUS GARDENS IN THE SUMMER Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener T here are a few walkers who get out rain or shine, often with cheerful umbrellas and canine companions. In the garden, heavy rains bring a break from having to water with the hose, but the rain also encourages growth of weeds, and wet foliage provides an invitation to fungus diseases. At the Community Garden at St. John’s, a few things are already getting harvested, and volunteers have been enjoying working together outdoors and sharing stories. Northeast Nursery in Peabody donated some wonderful vegetables, including hot peppers, sweet peppers and eggplants, all planted last week by volunteers. The gardeners chose plants that are not popular with rabbits, since the bunnies in the Saugus center neighborhood seem quite hungry and determined to chew through the fence! Some of the ‘Hungarian Wax’ hot peppers already have fruits so large it is a wonder the plants can still stand upright! On July 14 the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife advised taking down bird feeders and bird baths to prevent spread of a still mysterious illness affecting birds in much of the United States, but at least this comes at a time when seeds and fruits are fairly abundant. Many garden plants, including ornamental grasses, produce seeds that are relished by birds, and eating from plants makes it less likely that birds will congregate in one spot. So far sick birds have not been observed in Massachusetts. A beautiful native perennial that produces abundant birdseed once the flowers finish is coneflower (Echinacea purpurea and hybrids). It looks like a colorful daisy. The “cone” at the center of the flower head may be yellow or orange toned, and the petal-like ray flowers around the edges are often pinkish purple or white, but there are also varieties that may be red, yellow or orange. It is great for bouquets, but if you leave the flowers on the plant to go to seed you are also providing food for birds. Several species of giant hyssop or hummingbird mint (Agastache spp.) are in bloom now. Attractive to many pollinators, their minty foliage makes GYMNAST | FROM PAGE 8 the vault, the Silver in the uneven bars, Bronze on the balance beam and Gold on the floor exercise. Her six medals in this World Championships brought her total number of world medals to 20. In March 2019 she won Gold at the Stuttgart World AT THE SAUGUS IRONWORKS: Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) at the Saugus Ironworks. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) A COLORFUL LANDING SPOT: A red coneflower (Echinacea spp.) with a bumblebee grows beside pale yellow ‘Moonshine’ Yarrow (Achillea ‘Moonshine’) at the Saugus Ironworks. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) GOING FOR GOLD: ‘Kudo Gold’ hummingbird mint (Agastache hybrid) seems like the perfect plant to celebrate the summer Olympics’ opening day, and to attract pollinators to your garden. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) them unattractive to rabbits. Hummingbird mint is available in a wide range of flower colors to suit almost any garden. A dwarf form with golden blossoms, ‘Kudos Gold,’ seems like an appropriate plant to celebrate the summer Olympics’ opening ceremonies. The most familiar member of this genus is likely to be the lavender ‘Blue Fortune’ anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum ‘Blue Fortune’), which smells quite a bit like licorice. It is one of the many fragrant plants in the Saugus Ironworks garden. Because of the foliage fragrance, this plant was named after fennel (Foeniculum vulCup then in July won the 2019 GK US Classic. August saw her competing in the U.S. National Gymnastics Championships, where she won the all-around. During the competition she became the first woman to complete a triple twisting double somersault on floor exercise and the first gymnast to comIT SMELLS LIKE LICORICE: A bumblebee alights on ‘Blue Fortune’ anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) at the Saugus Ironworks. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) gare), which is unrelated but has a similar scent. Some kinds of fennel are a popular flavoring in Mediterranean cuisine, and fennel seeds are often used to flavor Italian sausage. Fennel is a pretty, feathery plant, but it has seeded itself a little too lavishly in my garden. Fennel has a tie to the Olympics: In Greek mythology, Prometheus, who stole the fire to give to mankind, used a hollow fennel stalk to carry the fire to earth from Mount Olympus. This is the inspiration for the torch carried around the world preceding the modern day Olympic games. The Greek word for fennel is “marathon,” and our word meaning a 26.2-milepete a double twisting double somersault dismount of the balance beam. The 2019 World Championships found the US team qualify to the team finals on the work of Biles, and the team went on to win the championship. Biles won a Gold on the vault and the balance beam, her 24th World Championships NOW GROWING: A bright yellow ‘Hungarian Wax’ pepper ripens on a new plant at the community garden at St. John’s rectory. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) IN MY GARDEN: A fennel flower (Foeniculum vulgare) blooms. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) long race came from the name of the Greek town which was the ancient battle site, a name which originally meant a field full of fennel. Editor’s Note: Laura Eisener is a landscape design consultant who helps homeowners with landscape design, plant selection, and placemedal, the most world championship medals by a gymnast, either man or woman. The 2020 season was cancelled because of the pandemic. In May of 2021, competing in the U.S. Classic, she debuted a Yurchenko double pike vault, which no woman had ever completed before, on her way ment 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. to another championship. She won her seventh national allaround title and qualified for the Olympic tryouts. Simone Biles is now looking forward to competing in Tokyo, hopefully bringing home additional Gold and other Olympic medals to add to her collection and fame. GO BILES!
13 Publizr Home