THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2020 Page 13 Saugus gardens in the pandemic Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener Saugus. Its leaves are heart shaped with W ednesday (Nov. 11) was Veterans Day, and many people have paid respects at the Saugus Veterans Park during the week and on the holiday itself. There are a number of interesting trees in this park. One of my favorites is the katsura (Cercidiphyllum japonicum), which was planted here in 2013 as a tribute to women veterans of delicately scalloped edges. The first part of its scientific name means heart-leaf, which describes the shape well. If you visit it at this time of year, take a moment to breathe in the scent. Katsura leaves in the fall smell like cotton candy or toasted marshmallows, and often the fragrance is enhanced as the fallen leaves are stepped on or broA YELLOW HEART-SHAPED LEAF: The colorful autumn foliage of the katsura tree in Saugus Veterans Park was on display for Veterans Day. These leaves smell like cotton candy or toasted marshmallow, and often the fragrance is enhanced as the fallen leaves are stepped on or broken. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) ken. This fall the leaf color is mostly pale yellow, but sometimes they may have a bit of orange or reddish tones as well. Katsura trees come from Japan, and the common name for this tree may refer to the 17th century Katsura Imperial Villa, an estate famous for its buildings and gardens in the suburbs of Kyoto. While katsura tree’s flowers are inconspicuous, its leaves emerge in the spring with a purplish coloration and turn bluish green by the time they are full size. Fall is the showiest season for the katsura tree because of its attractive fall color and the distinctive leaf fragrance. Another tree in this park with somewhat heart shaped leaves is the large European linden tree (Tilia europaea). This is probably one of the oldest trees here. It looks old enough to have been growing here when the site was still the grounds of the old Saugus High School – long before the recently demolished building most of us think of as the “old high school” on Route 1 was built. The original brick building at the corner of Winter and Summer Streets, constructed in 1906, was where my mother attended high school. It was destroyed by fire in 1963. The rear POPULAR WITH THE BIRDS: This hybrid dogwood tree fruit is a cross between flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) and kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa). It comes from one of the two trees that frame the path through the brick arch at Saugus Veterans Park. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) section on East Denver Street later known as the Evans School was the only part that was saved. The European linden tree is very popular as a street tree, park tree and garden tree in Europe. In early summer it has small, pale yellowish flowers that are not especially noticeable, but extremely fragrant. They smell a little like sweet lemons or limes. It is fun to watch people react to the fragrance and try to figure out where it is coming from. Often they sniff all the showier flowers in the area first! Lindens have very little fall color and leaves are generally still greenish when they fall. Another common name for linden is lime, so when you hear that a street in England is planted with lime trees it is usually this tree rather than citrus fruits which are being described. Once the flowers have finished blooming, pollinated ones produce a tiny pea-sized, rounded seed which remains until the fall. The stalk where the flower and later the fruit are attached to the tree has a narrow bract, very different in shape from the normal foliage, which helps the seed travel beyond the shade of the parent plant. Sometimes a few of these remain attached to the tree after the leaves have fallen. There are about 30 species of Linden worldwide, and all have slightly lopsided, heart shaped foliage. GARDENS | SEE PAGE 14
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