THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, OCTObEr 11, 2024 Page 13 Saugus Gardens in the Fall Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener N ow that the weather has grown colder, crickets and many summer insects are heard less often. Butterflies and other pollinators are still visiting the flowers. Another insect that can help the gardener are the praying mantises, which are known for eating garden pests. There are many kinds of praying mantis, and while some are native to North America, European and Asian species have been released for biological insect control and have naturalized. All of them can be helpful by eating undesirable pest insects but have also been found to eat some beneficial insects and even small birds that we prefer they leave alone. Julia Aston’s garden near Saugus Center has many flowers still in bloom, and her front steps are sporting a delightful assortment of unusual pumpkins and squash for the season. The hydrangeas have put on quite a show, and now that the flowers are beginning to dry, they will have a second career as dried flowers in a vase. Julia has three varieties of hydrangea – Limelight (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’), ‘Quickfire’ (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Quickfire’) and ‘Incrediball’ (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Incrediball’) – still blooming in her garden. ‘ Incrediball’ is a variety of smooth hydrangea, a very hardy North American native that produces white flowers in summer. Smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) usually has lace cap flower clusters in the wild, a flat cluster with some fertile flowers surrounded by showy sterile flowers. Popular cultivars like ‘Incrediball’, ‘Annabelle’ and ‘Invincibelle’ have nearly spherical clusters of entirely sterile flowers. ‘Limelight’ and ‘Quickfire’ are both varieties of panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata), a species of Asian origin with somewhat cone-shaped flower clusters. ‘Limelight’ has sterile flowers that change from a pale green to white, while ‘Quickfire’ has both sterile and fertile flowers of varying tints of pink in each panicle; these hydrangea blossoms often dry right on the plant as fall progresses and can be left on the branches through the winter or removed – it is up to the gardener to decide which they prefer. New flower buds on panicle hydrangeas are formed in late spring, so they can be pruned in the winter without losing next summer’s flowers, unlike the bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), which forms its flower buds the summer before. In addition to hydrangeas, roses are still blooming in many gardens. Some varieties will continue flowering until frost or later, if attention is paid to removing faded flowThis praying mantis in Julia Aston’s garden waits on peony foliage for prey to come closer. (Photo courtesy of Julia Aston) er heads, a simple garden chore known as deadheading. Some roses will bloom even after a frost or two – some years I have seen roses on shrubs in Saugus as late as mid-December. Last fall we had snow in early November, and I did not see any roses blooming after that. Joanie Allbee has two potted miniature red rose bushes currently flowering on the bistro table in the Peace Garden at 19 Talbot St. The original owner was throwing them out, but Joanie recognized potential: “Among the dead branches there were still specks of vibrant green in their stems” so she gave them a chance to thrive and put them out in the Peace Garden near the community room at 19 Talbot St. for all to enjoy. The Museum and Visitors Center at Saugus Iron Works are open through October 31, except for Mondays and Two miniature roses that were going to get thrown away get a second chance – thanks to Joanie Allbee – in the Peace Garden near the community room at 19 Talbot St. in Saugus. (Photo courtesy of Joanie Allbee) A spooky figure peeks out from a window at the Saugus Iron Works. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) Tuesdays. The last tours will be given on that day as well, though the grounds will continue to be open. On the counter in the Visitor Center for the rest of this month you can meet “John Winthrop, Jr.,” a small pumpkin in a paper park ranger hat and wooden Junior Ranger badge, who looks like he could be a descendant of the 17th-century entrepreneur who began the ironmaking industry in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Don’t be too alarmed if you also glimpse a skeletal figure waving through the window next to the Visitor Center door. Editor’s Note: Laura Eisener is Three different kinds of hydrangea bloom in Julia Aston’s garden and maintain their beauty as the flower panicles dry at the end of the season. (Photo courtesy of Julia Aston) A small pumpkin from the Pumpkin Patch at First Congregational Church has taken up residence in the Saugus Iron Works Visitor Center and has been awarded a Junior Ranger badge and hat. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) An old-fashioned jug of panicle hydrangeas keeps the summer’s enjoyment going through fall and perhaps even into winter. (Photo courtesy of Julia Aston) 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.
14 Publizr Home