Page 8 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2021 Saugus Gardens in the Pandemic A Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener t some point in the middle of January, I find myself bogged down by the drearGina S Soldano REALTOR® ABR®, AHWD, e-PRO®, GREEN, MRP®, PSA®, SFR®, SRES®, SRS® Broker/Associate Millennium Real Estate 291 Ferry Street, Everett, MA 02149 (857) 272-4270 Gina.Soldano@era.com gsoldanorealtor.com Law Offices of Terrence W. Kennedy 512 Broadway, Everett • Criminal Defense • Personal Injury • Medical Malpractice Tel: (617) 387-9809 Cell: (617) 308-8178 twkennedylaw@gmail.com iness of the weather. When I look at pictures of local places that were photographed in summer, it takes my breath away. It’s so hard to imagine that the cold gray landscape we experience today could ever be the colorful, fl oriferous scene we see in the picture. And yet I know that it really looked like that about six months ago, and in around six months from now it may not be identical but will be just as colorful, here in this very spot. For the time being we can plan, order seeds and enjoy the subtler colors of the winter landscape. A few things can be planted indoors in January because it takes so long for them to grow, but we are still several months away from the last average frost date. According to the “Farmers’ Almanac,” that date is April 10. Quite often though, a frost may occur as late as the last week of May. If plants are in the ground, it is best not to put them out before Memorial Day. However, if the plant is in a pot and you can trust yourself to remember to bring it inside if a cold night threatens, you could set it out on a porch in April. Luckily, there is a lot we can be doing indoors to brighten the scene before that. When I was in high school, my best friend and I would cheer ourselves up in January by looking through seed catalogs and putting orders together. As we welcome a new year, it is a good moment to think about what we want to see in our gardens for 2021. Seed catalogs are now arriving; seed packages appear in the garden departments of stores. It’s a good time of year to start planning a new cozy corner in the garden to relax outside, whether you have a lot of space or a little. Seeds and fl owering plants sold out early in 2020, so anyone thinking of their 2021 garden should be dreaming and planning now. In 2020, Saugus resident Joanie Allbee made a beautiful garden which bloomed all summer MAKING THE MOST OF TIGHT QUARTERS: Even somebody who rents an apartment can squeeze a spectacular amount of color out of a tiny space. Just look at these annuals planted last summer. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Joanie Allbee) in a tiny area beside her apartment. This should be a good inspiration for all of us! She says, “My quote I live by from childhood remains the same – And that is: ‘Just because you live in a city doesn’t mean you can’t plant a tree or garden.’” We can fi nd a way to fl ourish whether our garden is large or small. Flowers in her garden included yellow dahlia (Dahlia spp.), nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus), fl oss fl ower (Ageratum houstonianum), marigolds (Tagetes spp.), pink and purple petunia (petunia hybrids), red begonias (Begonia semperfl orens), white sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima), fan fl ower (scaevola spp.), clover (trifolium spp.) and, in a chair, ornamental peppers (Capsicum annuum). Planting in containers will require more frequent watering, but it enables you to garden in any spot, including a paved patio or walkway, and if you decide the plants would be better in another location, you can quickly scoop the plants up and move them. Other garden visitors likely thinking about seeds this week are the birds. Many birds rely on the seeds in feeders in our gardens at this time of year. Some of them have a diff erent plumage color than they do in summer. While female goldfi nches are a subtle beige, black and white year round, male goldfinches will change to a brilliant yellow when spring arrives. Even in winter, there are a few feathers that may remain a brighter yellow. Goldfi nches feed during the day and often arrive at my feeder in energetic and vociferous flocks throughout the winter. While they are known for being especially fond of thistle seeds, they will also eat many other kinds of seeds, including garden favorites such as asters, bee balm, cosmos, sunflower and zinnia, weeds such as dandelion and ragweed and small tree seeds like birch and hemlock. During the fall, goldfi nches were perched on the evening primroses in my garden from blooming time until the last seeds on the plants had ripened and been dispersed. Now they are daily visitors to the feeders with a spicy seed mix that includes sunfl ower chips, peanuts and tree nuts. They happily mingle with other bird species in the garden and at the feeder, and are even pretty tolerant of people being nearby 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 off ered to write a series of articles about “what’s blooming in town, since so many people have taken to walking the streets in their neighborhoods as a way to get some exercise and get out of the house” during the global pandemic. THE GIFT OF SMALL GARDENS: This garden of annuals provided a lot of enjoyment in a tiny space last summer – pink and red Busy Lizzie (Impatiens wallerana) and orange marigolds (Tagetes spp.). (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Joanie Allbee)
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