Saugus Gardens in the Fall

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

By Laura Eisener

So far we have had our first snow (Veterans Day, near the end of the ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park), although it melted before it reached the ground, and a few light frosts, but it will still be several weeks at least before the ground is too frozen to plant. Some of my fall garden tasks have been accomplished, such as putting away the birdbath, since the basin of most baths would crack as a result of expansion of the water if it froze. I still have some plants to get in the ground, so I am keeping my planting shovel handy right next to the snow shovel!

Walking around town, it definitely looks like stick season! Last Saturday morning’s rain brought down more leaves, and from the hilltops there are views across town that we have not seen since early last spring. Among the inflated turkeys and cornucopias around town, some snowmen and reindeer are appearing.

The bows are on the tree in Saugus Center, ready to go for the tree lighting on Friday, December 5. Some changes have taken place on the Town Hall lawn, including the recent limbing up of the pin oaks on each side of the front walk, additional pruning on the lower branches of trees along the Hamilton Street side and the removal of two small trees on the left side of the front lawn (near Taylor Street).

December’s full moon is Dec. 4. Often called the Cold Moon, it is the third of three supermoons in a row. Some people are calling it the super cold moon! It’s the last one for 2025, but since January’s full moon will also be a supermoon, it is not the end of the current supermoon streak. The first full moon of 2026, occurring January 3, will also be a supermoon.

Chrysanthemums are stealing the show in most gardens, and they remain among the most popular flowers for Thanksgiving centerpieces, either in cut flower arrangements or in festive pots on the table. The garden club’s centerpiece workshop Saturday at St. John’s resulted in many beautiful and creative arrangements. In my household we celebrate a family member’s November birthday that falls very close to Thanksgiving, and this year’s birthday bouquet features various shades of orange: tangerine colored Transvaal daisies (Gerbera jamesonii), apricot carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus), large daisy mums (Chrysanthemum spp.) in a burnt pumpkin hue and for contrast some tiny amber daisy mums.

A walk in any neighborhood this week will be full of fall splendor, from color still lingering on the trees to pumpkin displays in warm colors. Not only are there still some carved pumpkins on porches and steps, but there may be a few in unexpected places. A walk in Rumney Marsh included the finding of a pawprint pumpkin nestled in the branch of a tree near the gate across from Vitale Park, and a recent stroll in Lynnhurst to see views across town was rewarded with a painted pumpkin sitting on a rock on Vinegar Hill. A Thanksgiving walk is one of the best ways to work up an appetite for Thanksgiving dinner if you are not juggling pots and pans in the kitchen!

Anyone travelling by car for the holiday should be extra vigilant for deer and other wildlife crossing the road. Signs all along the Mass. Pike warn drivers that 25 percent of deer-related car crashes occur in November. This is the peak of deer mating season, and there are also many other animals out seeking mates and new food sources at this time of year. Not only are people feasting in this season, but woodchucks and other hibernating animals are fattening up for the winter. Birds are flocking to the feeders; a few days ago I looked out the window to see a male northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) above with his beak overflowing with seeds. Cardinals are among the most colorful birds that often stay around all winter, and there is a pair of them that show up to my feeder every day.

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

  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.