Saugus Gardens in the Summer

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

By Laura Eisener

As we turn the corner from summer to fall, kids are back in school, the evenings are cooler and the air has become less humid. Several holidays connected with birds occur this weekend and three of them coincide tomorrow: The first Saturday in September is International Vulture Awareness Day and also National Hummingbird Day. Saturday falls on September 6, which is World Shorebirds Day. The following day, September 7, is National Threatened Species Day. We will also be able to enjoy this month’s full moon, the corn moon, on that day.

Turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) are fairly often seen flying over Saugus. They are carrion eaters that benefit the environment. Since they are quite large, they are noticeable as they circle above the town looking for roadkill or other carcasses. They nest in tree cavities and fallen logs or directly on the ground and usually choose places that are somewhat remote from human activity, so are not likely to have nest sites in our gardens or other populated areas. Several pairs nest each year in wooded areas off of Route 1.

Hummingbirds are, of course, frequent visitors to our gardens. One of my neighbors has observed a hummingbird coming to her bright red hummingbird feeder every evening at dusk, and frequently at dawn as well. I sat out in her garden after sunset last Saturday and was lucky enough to see it come up to feed. Hummingbirds seem to remember where they have found food in the past, so it is most likely to attract regular visitors if the feeder is placed in the same location every year. In addition to those birds who spend the summer in town, in the fall we may be feeding some migrating hummingbirds well into October, after the earliest migrators have already reached Mexico and our southern states. While there are several hummingbird species out west, the only species that is seen in Massachusetts is the ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). Tubular flowers and the color red are especially attractive to hummingbirds, and many gardeners plant these especially to attract them.

World Shorebirds Day was established in 2014 as people became aware that the populations of many shorebird species are in decline. While we usually think of herring gulls and other sea gulls, which have adjusted pretty well to human presence, there is considerable concern about piping plovers and many other species. Many communities are involved in a global shorebird count that takes place September 1-7 each year. Some of these shorebirds can be found in the areas near Rumney Marsh and the brackish sections of the Saugus River in East Saugus.

Counts of birds and other animals by citizen scientists can help keep track of populations of plants and animals at risk of extinction. The term “threatened” refers to three categories: critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable. The most at risk are in the category critically endangered. Monarch butterflies are among the familiar garden visitors whose populations have noticeably declined in recent years. They benefit from nectar-producing plants like the butterfly bush, but it is also important to increase planting of milkweeds, which are necessary for their reproduction.

Julia Aston’s Chinese lanterns (Alkekengi officinarum, formerly called Physalis alkekengi) are producing a very good harvest of dried seedheads that look very much like little orange paper lanterns. The lanterns are usually ready for drying in September, but these past two summers they seem to be ripe in August. This member of the nightshade family has recently been placed in a new scientific genus, but it is closely related to the tomatillo (Physalis philadelphicus) used in salsa verde.

‘Peach Melba’ crocosmia (Crocosmia ‘Peach Melba, formerly called Montbretia ‘Peach Melba’) is a somewhat unusual color since most available varieties of crocosmia are usually red rather than orange. A native of Africa, the plants are deciduous perennials in our climate but in warmer parts of the world sometimes keep their foliage through winter. It is a member of the iris family (Iridaceae), which also includes freesia (Freesia spp.) and gladiolus (Gladiolus palustris), which are also popular cut flowers with sword-like leaves and a flower arrangement that tends to angle toward one side on the stem.

Our native fragrant white waterlilies (Nymphaea odorata) are flowering on several local ponds, including Silver Lake in Breakheart Reservation. The floating leaves help shield fish in the pond from predators, such as great blue herons and ospreys.

Dee LeMay’s rose mallows (Hibiscus moscheutos) are among several species of hardy hibiscus flowers that continue to bloom in our neighborhoods. Looking closely at the blossoms, you can see the five-lobed stigma with sticky hairs ready to capture pollen at the top of the pistil in the center of the flower.

  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.