Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JAnUAry 10, 2025 Saugus Gardens in the Winter Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener W inter has arrived without a doubt. The full moon will occur on Monday, January 13, the first full moon of 2025 and the first since the Winter solstice. It is often called the wolf moon. In this cold weather people may spend more time with their indoor plants, although once you convince yourself to go out a brisk walk can warm you up quite a bit. Signs of spring are already here in the form of sprouting bulbs (green leaf tips of hyacinths and daffodils are visible poking out from the frozen ground already) and even color on flower buds of such plants as Lenten roses (Helleborus orientalis). Depending on the weather, Lenten roses can be expected to bloom anytime between late December (rarely) and early May, but it is most often late February to mid-March. Sometimes the buds appear, as they have in my garden already, but don’t fully open for a month or more. The buds on the Lenten roses at the Eric Devlin memorial tree near the rail trail in Saugus Center are showing bud color already, too – one looks pinkish and one is white nestled among the evergreen leaves. The fruit of evergreen hollies like meserve hybrids (Ilex meservae ‘Blue Maid’ and others) may be considered primarily holiday decorations by people, but some wildlife appreThis mockingbird sitting on Julia Aston’s mailbox enjoys holly berries from the adjacent shrub as a special winter treat. (Photo courtesy of Julia Aston). ciates them all winter long, as they may last until spring without losing their nutritional value. Mockingbirds can often be seen visiting holly bushes daily from late fall through early spring until other foods become available. In addition to the evergreen hollies, a deciduous species called winterberry (Ilex verticillata) has bright red fruits that serve as winter interest in the garden long after its leaves have gone. Winterberry shrubs are planted near the front of the Christopher P. Dunne Visitor’s Center at Breakheart, and they also grow wild, especially in slightly damp areas near the edges of ponds. Northern mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) are native birds that, as their scientific name says, “mimic many tongues.” Its varied songs imiA squirrel has found a treat and a nice branch on my maple to eat it on. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) tate sounds of many bird species. Among the many brownish gray sparrows and other birds in our area, mockingbirds have longer legs and a noticeably longer tail. Males can do a dramatic courtship dance. They generally subsist of berries and other fruits during the winter but switch to small insect larvae during the breeding season. They are the state bird of several southern states, and their range has gradually spread northward into Canada in recent decades, although some still travel southward for the winter. Many people probably have poinsettias in their house that they purchased or were given for Christmas. Poinsettias may continue to “bloom” much longer than the Christmas season, often the color remaining in the bracts for several months. The tiny yellow flowers are usually clustered in the center of a whorl of colorful bracts. When you first purchase the plants, the flowers should be small green buds. A few weeks later, they will open and eventually dry up, but as long as the plant has been watered regularly the green foliage and red, pink, white or multicolored bracts will remain for quite a while. Sometimes the bracts become greener over time, but a few decades ago I had several poinsettias on my mantel at Christmas and most kept their color into February but one kept its red bracts intact until Buds of Lenten rose planted several years ago are visible in my shady front garden, but it may still be a while before the flowers actually open. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) Indoors, a new Lenten rose with white flowers is in full bloom, and once winter is over it will be planted outdoors in the garden. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) after Easter! It was not treated any differently than any of the others. They do not like cold, but if Berries of winterberry, like this shrub in front of the visitor’s center at Breakheart Reservation, can provide food for some wildlife through the winter. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) they survive through the summer and fall in your house (or GARDENS | SEE PAGE 21 This small glittered poinsettia may bloom for a month or more, and with care it can be persuaded to bloom again next year. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener)
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