Saugus Gardens in the Spring

Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable

By Laura Eisener

Now that it is May, there is plenty in bloom and many birds are returning to the area. We often find snowy egrets (Egretta thula), the larger great egrets or common egrets (Ardea alba), great blue herons (Ardea herodias) and other large birds fishing in the Saugus River during the warmer months, especially near low tide when the shallow water makes fishing easier.

Tulips (Tulipa spp.) are among the most popular of the spring bulbs and are available in a great array of colors, but they are not among the easiest to grow. Both bulbs and blossoms are popular with deer, rabbits and some other wildlife, so they seldom survive many years unless special precautions are taken, such as animal repellents or effective fencing. They are usually very rewarding the first spring after planting, but generally cannot be expected to bloom more than one or two years.

Among the small hardy spring bulbs that are usually left alone by deer and rabbits are grape hyacinths (Muscari Armeniacum), which are blooming now in garden beds and lawns. The flowers are usually a deep blue purple, but occasionally white ones are available. The bulbs often multiply over time, and they require very little care, so older gardens where they may have been planted decades ago often have large quantities popping up in the spring. I have especially been noticing them in lawns recently. It is important that the foliage be left alone until it begins to turn yellow, usually late May or June, so that energy can be put back into the bulbs for next year, so it will be necessary to mow around them or to put off mowing until the leaves are gone.

The showy bleeding heart (now Lamprocapnos spectabilis, formerly Dicentra spectabilis), also sometimes called Asian bleeding heart, is an old-fashioned plant that evolved in wooded locations where there was seldom enough sunlight for photosynthesis by the time the trees above had fully leafed out. Most years the leaves on this plant turn yellow and disappear in late June, although if it is especially rainy like last year they may remain several weeks longer. Leaves and stems usually emerge a reddish green in early April. At bloom time in early May, the leaves have become mostly green, and heart-shaped flowers, usually deep pink, are opening on tall arched stalks. Since they are somewhat poisonous, they are safe from deer, rabbits, etc., who seem to know enough to avoid them.

Common flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa), a shrub native to China, started blooming a few weeks ago and is in full flower now. It stands out in the landscape because of the uncommon flower color, usually a bright reddish orange. Flowers can also be white, apricot or pink. Like many of the blooming trees and shrubs of early spring, it is a member of the rose family (Rosaceae). Also like many rose family members, this plant can produce a large edible fruit later in the season.

“They dined on mince and slices of quince” goes the description of the wedding banquet of “The Owl and the Pussycat” in the poem by Edward Lear. Lear was a prolific 19th century English artist, known during his lifetime for his bird and landscape drawings, music and written works, including “nonsense poetry.” He is now chiefly remembered for his limericks and for this longer poem. For many people, this is the only reference to quince they may have heard, although in the 1870s when this poem was published quince would have been a familiar fruit to most Europeans. Quince fruit is large and yellowish when ripe, smelling like applesauce, but it is quite sour when eaten raw and really needs to be cooked with ample sweetening. The kind of quince most popular in jams and preserves is known as common quince (Cydonia oblonga), which is not often grown in the United States. It has less ornamental flowers but a more flavorful fruit than the shrub we see in our gardens around town. If you decide to taste it, don’t forget your runcible spoon!

  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.