SAUGUS — Laura Eisener, a garden designer, horticulture teacher, and president of the Saugus Historical Society, gave a presentation about the town’s trees at the Public Library.
The library’s community room was filled with eager Saugonians interested to to learn about the town’s arboreal assets.
Before Eisener began her presentation, she was introduced by local artist Kelly Slater, who helped coordinate the presentation. The pair previously hosted talks about the intersection of art and trees at the Lynn Museum, and Slater hosted an art workshop at the library just last month, which focused on painting trees.
“I’m going to talk about several particular trees in Saugus and talk about their characteristics, but mostly, I’m looking at this in terms of finding inspiration for whatever kind of artwork you might be interested in doing, or just enjoyment and contemplation works as well.” Eisener said.
Eisener started off the presentation with a photo of an American elm, located on Main Street near Saugus High School.
“In the 18th and 19th century, most of North America decided this was the tree that they wanted for street trees, and proceeded to cover the continent with them… many of the Founding Fathers loved this tree, partly because of the shape, but also because it was named American elm. So you know, when you’re fighting against Great Britain, you don’t want a European elm,” Eisener quipped.
Eisener said that while the tree in the photograph is not the only American elm in Saugus, it might be the one that is in the most prominent position in town. Notably, she said, it has staved off Dutch elm disease quite well.
Her presentation covered many other trees, such as the purple-leaved European beech at the Iron Works, the Colorado spruce in Saugus Center, and the Valley Forge elm (also resistant to Dutch elm disease) that was planted at the Iron Works by volunteers from the town’s Tree Committee in 2015 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the town’s separation from Lynn.
Eisener said that her love of trees dates back to when she “learned to talk.”
“My mother and grandmother loved plants in general,” she said.
Eisener was a botany major in college, and later attended graduate school for landscape architecture. She now assists Northeast Nursery in Peabody with its landscape design.
“I go out to people’s yards and tell them what they should plant,” Eisener said. “I don’t have to dig any of the holes or anything like that.”
Eisener also teaches an urban tree care class at North Shore Community College.
While she said she is interested in many different kinds of plants, it is necessary to know a lot about trees when choosing which ones to plant because they are long investments.
“As opposed to buying a petunia — ‘If I don’t like it, I’ll buy a different kind next year,’” she said.
When asked about her favorite tree in Saugus, or in general, she said she could not pick just one.
“You have to ask me ‘What’s your favorite tree this afternoon?’ not ‘What’s your favorite tree, period?’” she said
