Saugus Gardens in the Winter

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

By Laura Eisener

Today is the eve of Epiphany, which by tradition is the night the three kings arrived in Bethlehem, bearing gifts. In some European countries, this is the day children receive their presents rather than on Christmas morning. January 5 also goes by the name of “Twelfth Night,” which was a traditional night of revelry in old England. Shakespeare’s comedy of that name takes place on this date.

Among the many visitors to the birdfeeder year-round are goldfinches (Spinus tristis). In the breeding season, the males have bright yellow feathers with black and white wings, but in the fall, they lose the yellow plumage and produce feathers that are an olive to beige shade, although the wings don’t change very much. Female goldfinches and juvenile ones have the olive-beige color year-round. I have noticed that goldfinches often begin to change their plumage early in the season, and a couple of the birds in my garden already have a few yellow feathers mixed in.

Most trees that are not evergreen have lost most of their foliage, but there are still leaves and fruits clinging to branches of some species. One popular street tree that has small nutlets attached to the branches is the little leaf linden (Tilia cordata), a European tree known for its heart-shaped leaves and fragrant, though not especially showy, flowers. While many people might think that it is difficult to identify leafless trees at this time of year, there are helpful clues in the leaf buds waiting for spring, scars on twigs where last season’s leaves fell, and in many cases, fruits remaining on the branches or at the base of the tree. In the case of this linden and its relatives, there are small nutlets clinging to bracts on many of the branches. The nutlets are small and round, usually remaining on the tree until fairly late in winter, and attached to a narrow bract that is very different in shape to the heart-shaped leaves, creating puzzlement to those who are not familiar with the fact that many unrelated plants produce specialized leaves called bracts – often connected to flowering and fruiting time.

In Europe, lindens are often called lime trees or simply limes. They are not at all related to the fruit we call limes, such as the key lime (Citrus aurantifolia), although there is a slight similarity in the flower’s scent. It is somewhat more likely that the name came from the fact that they prefer a sweet, basic or lime soil to an acidic soil. While the trees seem pretty adaptable and do grow well as street trees in Eastern Massachusetts’ usually acidic soil, they do prefer a sweeter soil. One late winter day, I visited the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain and was surprised to see what looked like a dusting of snow in the linden collection – it may have been cold enough for snow but I had not seen any on the way down there from the North Shore, nor anywhere else in the Arboretum. It soon became clear, though, when I saw a truck producing this “snow,” that they were spreading powdered limestone among the trees to improve the pH of the soil for these trees’ optimal growth! Spread over the ground, the limestone will go down in the soil with rain or watering, a strategy which is also used for other species that do not prefer the acidic soils of Eastern Massachusetts. Most lawn grasses, lilacs and roses prefer an application of lime every now and then if grown in our area. Other plant species, such as rhododendrons, azaleas, mountain laurel and most conifers, far prefer or even require acidic soils.

The genus linden (Tilia spp.) contains many species, some native to Europe, some to Asia, and some to North America. North American linden species are often called basswoods. American basswood (Tilia americana) has much larger leaves than the European ones, which is why littleleaf linden is the name most often used for this ornamental species when it is planted in North America. Elegant allées of linden trees are common in European cities in many different countries and often are planted here, especially when a city planner is trying to achieve a European flavor in their architecture and design.

  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.

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