Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021 Saugus gardens in the fall Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener F all is certainly here, and among the season’s natural occurrences are the migrations of birds and butterflies. A few evenings ago, I took a walk over to the garden of Nancy Sayles on Fairchild Avenue. I remember walking by there in July of 2020 and having my attention caught by a hummingbird flitting through the red flowers of bee balm (Monarda didyma). The entire front yard is gloriously colorful no matter what time of year you see it, exactly as Nancy planned. Nancy has long been very active in the Saugus Garden Club and has worked on garden projects like the children’s garden at the library and the butterfly garden at Breakheart Reservation. Of her own garden she says, “Utilizing my entire front yard, I created a perennial garden with Native American plants that would be butterfly, bee, and bird friendly. It was designed to bloom in stages, keeping it interesting for five to six months and then to provide cover for winter birds and animals.” Nancy’s favorites are all very hardy plants which come back year after year. “The main purpose was to provide an environment for the monarch butterfly. The female monarchs lay their eggs exclusively on milkweed/butterfly weed (Asclepias spp.) Species in this genus are its only caterpillar host plant. The yellow and black caterpillars feed on the milkweed leaves. The caterpillars grow and molt over the course of a couple of weeks and then pupate and form a beautiful seafoam green chrysalis, where they go through metamorphosis into their adult form.” Since nectar is important for adult butterflies, bees and hummingbirds, there must be something in bloom throughout the growing season. Nancy tells us, “In spring, the garden wakes up with pink moss phlox (Phlox subulata) along the walls. Next the slightly taller light blue woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) blooms. Later the bright orange butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) and the yellow tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata) present themselves. Among the later bloomers are coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). It all finishes with the dramatic New York aster (Symphiotrichum novi-belgii) and the oxeye THE BEES LOVE THESE: Oxeye sunflowers (Heliopsis helianthoides) and pink summer phlox (Phlox paniculata) in Nancy’s front garden continue blooming through September. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides), which the bees love, that fill the other garden.” “The one non-native plant is a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) which flowers much of the summer and into the fall. Its fragrant blossoms attract all the pollinators. One late September morning I witnessed 8-10 monarchs and a cabbage white butterfly all dancing around my butterfly bush at once.” “The hummingbirds love the bee balm, honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), and liatris (Liatris spicata). I’ve watched them fly into my flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) tree, landing on its trunk to rest. Because they blend into the gray color of the trunk, you would not be able to find them if you didn’t watch them. In the fall, the goldfinches land on the sharp center of the coneflowers, harvesting the seeds for their long flight south. They do the same on the sunflowTHREADLEAF TICKSEED: This flower (Coreopsis verticillata ‘Zagreb’) is a perennial which blooms from June well into October, especially if faded flowers are removed regularly. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Nancy Sayles) ers, hardly bending them with their weight. My grandson and I used these gardens to explore and learn about the ecosystem for a Boy Scout merit badge he was working on. It was great fun!” LANDING FOR FUEL: monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) on New York aster (Symphiotrichum novi-belgii). (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Nancy Sayles) SUMMER CURB APPEAL: variegated yucca (Yucca filamentosa ‘Color Guard’), orange butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) and threadleaf tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata ‘Zagreb’). (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Nancy Sayles) FLYING PARTNERS: A few monarch butterflies stopped to fuel up for their flight in Nancy Sayle’s butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) on Sept. 27. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) 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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