Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, AUGUST 22, 2025 Saugus Gardens in the Summer Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener A s summer continues, we are getting some reminders that fall is around the corner. Due to the scarcity of rain in recent weeks, gardeners are spending a lot of time watering to keep their plants from wilting. Stress has caused some trees’ foliage to drop prematurely, although it is not a great cause for concern if it is just a few leaves. In some cases, they are dropping while still green, like the oak leaves I found on my car this weekend, but sometimes they are already showing a loss of chlorophyll, like the yellow leaves from the tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera) scattered over my driveway last week. Acorns, while still immature, are dropping a bit early from some of the oaks. One of the most admired flowering annuals for late summer and early fall is the dramatic sunflower (Helianthus annuus), which may tower over other plants in the garden. Unlike most popular annuals that can be expected to bloom all summer, sunflowers generally do not flower until near the end of the summer season. They can be very dramatic when growing in the garden, but they are also highly valued as a cut flower. Their thick stems and large flower heads mean that just a few flowers will make a satisfactory bouquet and may be all that will fit in most vases. They can also be attractive combined with other flowers like the delicate baby’s breath (Gypsophila paniculata) for example, or the tall stalks of gladiolus (Gladiolus spp.). While sunflowers are most often found with ray florets that have yellow petals, other petal colors may be orange and reddish tones or nearly white. In cut florist bouquets, flowers with brilliant glowing orange petals can sometimes be found, with purplish streaks in the stems and sepals;this is an indication that the cut flower stems were placed in water with food coloring or other dye, red or purplish, that results in the striking color. I remember loving this trick as a child, putting carnations or other cut flowers in a vase with purple or blue food coloring and watching the startling colors travel up to the blossom. This is a fun experiment for all ages, and can work with many different flowers. It can sometimes be challenging to find summer blooming perennials for shade, since many woodland plants take advantage of the sunlight that penetrates the deciduous forest canopy only in early spring and may go dormant at the height of summer. Golden ray (Ligularia dentata) is a summer blooming perennial with bold dark green leaves that proA reddish sunflower blooms in Dee LeMay’s sunny garden near her driveway. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) duces yellow daisy-like flowers. Some varieties, notably “Othello” and “Desdemona,” have purple undersides to the leaves. Like many other plants with large foliage, they need to be watered often in dry weather to prevent the leaves from looking very wilted. It is less likely to be nibbled by rabbits than hostas, which enjoy similarly shady sites. In Dee LeMay’s garden, this plant is a dramatic contrast to the adjacent ferns and other fine-foliaged shade plants. Golden ray is a member of the Aster family (Asteraceae) like sunflowers and other plants with a composite seed head, but it is somewhat unusual to find members of this family that Golden ray blooms in Dee LeMay’s garden above bold textured foliage. (Photo courtesy of Dee LeMay) The bright orange sunflowers won’t be seen growing in anyone’s garden; they get the color from food coloring in the vase water! (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) This bouquet of sunflowers grown at Tendercrop Farm’s Wenham location sits beside a sunflower painting by a Saugus artist. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) ‘Little Joe’ Joe Pye weed is a smallish version of the tall native perennial that blooms in many meadows now. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) prefer shade. We see many plants from the aster family (Asteraceae) in bloom in late summer. This is one of the largest plant families, with about 25,000 species distributed over 1,500 genera. Many are quickly recognized by their daisy-like flower heads, but there are other members of this family that have a less obviously composite flower form, such as Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium spp.). Coastal plain Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium dubium) has a large range, from Nova Scotia down the Atlantic coast to Georgia. This is one of the species most often grown in gardens. The variety “Little Joe” as its name suggests is not as tall as the species usually grows, more often 3’ tall than the 6’ usually expected of the species. There are several other Joe Pye weed species. Spotted Joe Pye weed or Queen of the Meadow (Eutrochium maculatum, sometimes known as Eupatoriadelphus maculatus, and formerly Eupatorium maculatum) is a similar plant growing in wet meadows that grows up to around 7’ tall. Both of these have a sort of dusty rose-colored flower that grows in a cluster at the top of the stems. Purple Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum) is very similar, but the flowers are more purplish. Tall Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium fisulosum) can reach 8 or more feet tall. All of these are deer and rabbit resistant perennials that bloom in late summer. While their flowers are much less showy than sunflowers, they are a great choice of native plant with many benefits for pollinators. 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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