A Garden Tour Ends with Tea

By Laura Eisener

On Monday about 50 members of the Saugus Garden Club enjoyed an elegant tea and a guided tour of the memorial garden at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Among the plants blooming in the garden Monday were a few different lace cap hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), including the variegated form (Hydrangea macrophylla variegata), some Weigela (Weigela florida) with pink and white flowers, red and yellow Indian pink (Spigelia marilandica) and a bright yellow clump of threadleaf tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata ‘Zagreb’).

Several members of the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association volunteered to perform maintenance in the garden here as well as at several other gardens across the state, and two master gardeners showed the club members what they had done recently in this garden. Activities included pruning of the large shrubs, weeding, removal of invasive species and removal of a tree that had overgrown the path and restricted access to the very important water faucet! Several shrubs have been transplanted, and later in the season there are plans to add some new groundcovers. Two of the master gardeners attended the event on Monday and answered questions about the work in the garden. The Master Gardeners Association volunteers help maintain many historic, ornamental and food pantry gardens run by nonprofits throughout the Commonwealth, and also run prison programs to help incarcerated individuals develop skills with plants.

Club members refreshed themselves after the tour with tea and lemonade and a sumptuous feast of sandwiches and baked goods in Ashworth Hall at St. John’s, many of which were made by the members themselves. Many members brought their favorite teacups, many of which were vacation souvenirs or family heirlooms, which added to the fun of the day. Other seasonal events are in the planning stage for Garden Club members later in the summer and fall.