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 Pi Day, a holiday enthusiastically observed by the Math Department at North Shore Community College, where I teach a tree care class. Sometimes they set up tables in the hall and give a small piece of pie to anyone who can correctly answer a problem involving calculating the circumference of a circle! And if Pi Day is here, we can also calculate that the spring equinox is only six calendar days away – March 20! St. Patrick’s Day is also around the corner on March 17.

We can already head outside to observe the definite indications of spring popping up all around us. We have had some warmer weather this week, much more inviting for walking around. There are some noticeable new green sprouts, especially daffodils, hyacinths and snowdrops, but only the latter are in full bloom.

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) are usually the first bulbs to flower in our gardens. I expect there is a lawn full of them in bloom on Myrtle Street in Allen Humphries’ garden but haven’t gotten across town yet to see them. These little blossoms come from bulbs that need care somewhat different than for most spring bulbs we are accustomed to – they do not like to dry out so they usually do best in places that are shady in summer but may get some sun in winter – in other words, under deciduous trees or shrubs. They are poisonous to most animals if eaten, so they will not be eaten by rabbits, squirrels, mice or other wildlife the way tulips and crocuses often are. If they do not come up in your garden this year, the dry weather last fall is most likely to blame. Any new snowdrop bulbs should be planted next fall in a place with slightly more moisture-retentive soil.

On Monday morning I noticed a clump of purple crocuses blooming at St. John’s Church. They bloom best in sunny locations. Unfortunately, rabbits and other small animals are inclined to eat the flowers and leaves, and some even devour the bulbs by tunnelling below ground.

Indoors, the additional minutes of sunshine are encouraging a lot of blooming on our windowsills. The spring equinox falls on March 20 and one way to celebrate is to grow one of the 500 species of primroses (Primula spp.), whose name means “prime or first rose.” The beautiful purple primrose in the photo above is in Sandy Mears’ home.

Sandy also has a flowering maple (Abutilon ‘Tiber’s Red’), which is not actually related to the trees we typically call maple, although there is a similarity in the leaf shape. Flowering maple is a tropical, woody plant with showy bell-shaped flowers in a range of colors, mostly in variations of red, orange, yellow, pinks and white. They can continue blooming for many weeks in a sunny window. Abutilon is in the mallow family (Malvaceae), so it is more closely related to hibiscus and hollyhock than to maples (Acer spp.), which are in the soapberry family (Sapindaceae).

Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) is one of the native maples that can be found in many places around town. Its early spring flowers are one of the earliest blossoms, and the bright red flower buds stand out at this time of year when the landscape does not have a lot of color. Silver maple got its name from the silvery undersides of the foliage. They are known for their fall color, too, which is usually yellow on the upper surface. While they have a lower sugar content in their sap than sugar maple, they do produce a tasty sap.

One of the most distinctive birdcalls come from red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus). I have just started seeing and hearing them again this week in my neighborhood near Birch Pond. Last weekend was actually the first time I have seen them foraging under the bird feeder in my front yard. The males are very showy: mostly black with bright red wing patches that remind many people of epaulettes, with the bottom edged with golden yellow. Females are much more camouflaged: mostly brown with no epaulettes. When males chirp, they often puff themselves up as though it takes a lot of air in their lungs to make such a noise, or perhaps it is mostly to make themselves look more intimidating!

  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.