Saugus Gardens in the Spring

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

  On Sunday morning, many people will be leaving church with a frond of a tropical plant, as this will be Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week before Easter. On April 6, we can hope to see the first full moon of spring, often called the pink moon after the spring blooming moss pink, also known as rock phlox (Phlox subulata). Even though the branches are still mostly bare, there are many flowers popping up from bulbs in the ground and some blossoms beginning to emerge from branches before the leaves come out.

  Snowdrops are still blooming, and the larger Dutch Giant crocus, about twice the size of the earliest crocus species, are in bloom. They seem to be faring a bit better in my neighborhood than last year, when the blossoms were almost all devoured by rabbits. The popular striped variety ‘Pickwick’ is a very old hybrid, one of the parents usually believed to be spring crocus (Crocus vernus). Snow crocus (Crocus thomasinianus) – sometimes nicknamed “tommies” – Sieber’s crocus (Crocus sieberi) and golden crocus (Crocus chrysanthus) are three other spring crocus varieties that are commercially available. Unfortunately, the flowers are sometimes eaten by rabbits and the bulbs are eaten by voles and squirrels.

  Most springs, we don’t see many daffodils (Narcissus spp.) blooming outside until April. This year, there are many of them in bloom already in south-facing gardens. Those growing in shade or on north facing slopes may still take another week or more to open up. The daffodil season is actually fairly long, since there are daffodil varieties that typically bloom as late as May. Daffodils’ nodding heads ensure that the perianth of sepals provide a built-in umbrella to deflect April showers from the petals forming the trumpet or cup and the pistils and stamens inside them.

  Daffodils have become the most popular spring bulb in many areas, as they are not favorite foods of rabbits, deer or other wildlife. There are many different kinds and the flowers on many are large and showy enough to be seen from a distance. They survive and often multiply for many decades. Like other hardy bulbs, most daffodil bulbs need several weeks of cold weather before bloom, not a problem in our climate. A few daffodil varieties like ‘Paperwhite’ (Narcissus tazetta ‘Paperwhite’) grow naturally in warmer climates and can flower indoors without a pre-cooling period, but they will not survive a New England winter outdoors.

  The evening chorus announcing the arrival of spring has started in and around ponds in the woods. Spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) are chirping in vernal pools, seemingly with extra gusto after last Monday night’s rains. Their high-pitched calls can be heard up to a mile away if there is not too much traffic noise, and it is made by male frogs to attract females for breeding. These tiny light brown frogs are only about an inch and a half long and tend to quiet down when people approach. They tend to live in woods near vernal ponds or year-round ponds, and most of the chirping occurs at night in March and April, although they may start later and continue into June in northern New England and Canada. They can be found as far south as Florida and as far west as the Mississippi River.

  A colorful bird that has begun hanging around my garden this year is the house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus).While the female is primarily brown, the male has quite a bit of red, especially on his head and breast. They have become year-round residents. Although these birds were originally western species, they were introduced to the eastern part of the country and are now quite numerous.

  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.