Saugus Gardens in the Fall

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

By Laura Eisener

Nature has been quietly dramatic with some foggy nights and mornings, unseasonable warmth and the last full moon of the year. In this final week of 2023, many people are taking the time to enjoy the season, remember 2023 and look forward to 2024. My family went out Christmas night for a drive around town to enjoy all the holiday decorations, since they look so different lit up in the evening than they do during the day. We have also been taking some extra walks in the daytime to see wildlife as well as decorations that in some cases are not so visible at night. In my own garden, our outdoor decorations always include some extra food for the birds, even though this year there are still seed heads on many plants.

In every neighborhood there are some distinctive lights and decorations that brighten the evening hours. One of the more unusual garden features in town is a Humvee decorated with lights and American flags on the lawn of Junior Tercetti. He wishes a happy and safe holiday to all the military personnel, especially those serving overseas, and wishes to give a big Thank You to every single one of them.

One of our frequently seen birds is the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), which is featured in many decorations and holiday cards. The male cardinal is a vivid red in the winter, much brighter than at other seasons, and stands out against the wintery background, whether it is green grass like we are still seeing this December or browns and whites of bare branches and snow. Female cardinals are much more muted in color, essentially olive green with a bright reddish orange beak. They are frequently seen picking up seeds dropped from the feeder or perched in the evergreens nearby.

Certainly, one of the loveliest singers among our familiar songbirds is the Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus). It blends into the background much more than the cardinal, but it is also a frequent feeder visitor. A little smaller than a sparrow, with a narrow, slightly curved beak and a distinctive long stripe of lighter brown just over its eye, this sprightly bird can be a frequent visitor to feeders in the winter. Male wrens in particular have a very complex repertoire of tunes and sing especially frequently during breeding season, but may sing year-round. This species is the state bird of South Carolina, but it can be found all over the East Coast and into Canada’s eastern provinces. This bird loves our seed wreath, which has a mixture of seeds as well as some cranberries.

The evergreen perennial often known as the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) is not actually related to roses but is in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). It does not have true petals, but the five colorful petaloid structures are sepals, which protect the stamen and pistils while the buds are forming, then spread out when the flower is open. This species gets its common name because in much of Europe it frequently blooms in late December, but I have never observed it to open that early in the season in my garden before. Most often it is February or March when it begins to open, and occasionally as late as April. Christmas roses have white sepals, while the closely related Lenten roses (Helleborus orientalis) have pastel pink, lilac or deep burgundy sepals and usually do bloom later in winter even in milder climates than ours. Frequently, hybrids between these species are available, and they are often sold as houseplants in the winter months. Most of my outdoor Hellebores (Christmas rose, Lenten rose and other hybrids) were purchased in previous winters from floral departments of food stores or from garden centers, kept watered through the winter and were planted outside in the ground as soon as the soil warmed in the spring. These plants are not eaten by rabbits or other animals, who seem to be aware that the plant is poisonous, but indoors they should be kept out of the reach of pets and toddlers.

  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.