THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, OCTObEr 31, 2025 Page 15 Saugus Gardens in the Fall Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener S o far there are still some annuals blooming despite the cool mornings. A relative of the French marigolds pictured last week, bright orange and yellow African marigolds (Tagetes erecta) have long stems that make some varieties great choices for bouquets, and in the garden they can compete with the pumpkins for bright seasonal color. A grass family (Poaceae) member that has recently become a popular fall ornamental plant after centuries of being grown as a food crop in Africa and Asia is pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum, sometimes known as Cenchrus americanus). It is related to corn (Zea mays). For those of us who live in cold climates, pearl millet may be most familiar as the tiny round seed included in many birdseed mixes. As a food for people, it has advantages of being gluten-free, and it grows fairly quickly from seed to harvest, while requiring less water than many other grains. It can be ground into flour used to make popular flatbreads, cooked with water to make a porridge or mixed with fluids and sometimes fermented to make some drinks popular in Asia and Africa. In recent years, ornamental varieties with colorful foliage — dark purple to burgundy, chartreuse and striped combinations of these, have been marketed as a fall ornamental plant. Millet’s seedhead, when dry, looks a bit like a cat’s tail, fuzzed with fear or excitement, like a Halloween cat. The dried seedA bouquet of orange African marigolds and white double baby’s breath are the centerpiece of a fall arrangement in a stairway corner. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) op skin reactions just from handling the plant. As a result, some nurseries are reluctant to grow it. I have not personally met anyone yet who had experienced a negative reaction to handling this plant, but it may be wise to be cautious. Other names for it include A Trick-or-Treat sign is embellished with a cluster of millet stalks rather than the expected cornstalks. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) heads and stalks can be used in dried flower arrangements. The millet stalks attached to the “Trick or Treat” sign in the photo was one I grew in a pot last fall. It does not get as tall as a cornstalk but can be used in similar ways for late fall displays. It may sound pretty creepy to grow the “Queen of Poisons” in your garden, but it actually has quite beautiful flowers in a much-desired color. Monkshood (Aconitum spp.) is one of the few garden plants that can have true blue flowers. It is related to delphinium (Delphinium spp.); has similar tall spikes of blossoms and can produce blossoms in similar colors of blue, purple, pink, yellow or white, depending on variety. The monkshood species most commonly available (Aconitum napellus) blooms in October and is a dramatic addition to the fall garden. However, it does come with some serious warnings — it is poisonous if eaten, and some people have reported skin irritation from even handling the plant. Like many other plants used medicinally, it can be fatal in the wrong dosage, and some people are reported to develwolfsbane, devil’s helmet, soldier’s cap, aconite and blue rocket. Monkshood is reliably perennial in our climate and grows in sun or part shade. It is not closely related to the winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis), a popular early spring bulb, although both belong to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). Fall foliage continues to dazzle. Sugar maples (Acer saccharum) are especially known for their vivid color, and many other maple species are also at peak color this week. While lacking the bright reds and oranges of many maples, other trees, such as lindens (Tilia spp.), honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) and birches (Betula spp.), are showMonkshood is one of the few flowers that can bloom in a true blue, and it is one of the last to flower in fall. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) ing brilliant yellow fall color. A group of lindens in a Route 1 parking lot pictured above stands out even at night under the lights. Plantings of honey locust can be found along Central Street, especially near the rotary in Saugus Center, and in several parking lots along Route 1, and most are beginning to shed their bright yellow leaflets. Our native birches in Breakheart Reservation and elsewhere have mostly turned to gold as well. Editor’s Note: Laura Eisener is a A line of lindens gleam golden in the parking lot lights in front of Lakeshore Learning Store on Route 1. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) Sugar maples glow above traffic on Walnut Street near Walnut Place. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) 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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