Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, DECEmbEr 5, 2025 Saugus Gardens in the Fall Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener T ree lighting tonight happens in Saugus Center, with the Town Hall lawn changed by recent tree pruning and the removal of several trees. For weeks to anyone driving or walking around Saugus Center the preparations have been noticeable as lights on branches have been tested and adjusted and the bows and star positioned on spruce in the center of the rotary where the Civil War monument is. By evening tonight, additional holiday figures will be positioned for the delight of the crowd that always gathers for this event. Be sure to bundle up! Lights are already shining at homes and businesses around town. Some are best seen during the day, and others at night. As it gets closer to Christmas, new decorations are being added. A walk or drive to the grocery store or out for coffee is likely to include the sight of a new wreath on your neighbor’s door or someone up on their roof attaching lights. There were plenty of red roses (Rosa Knockout ‘double red’) still blooming in front of the post office on Monday, though by the time we wake up tomorrow morning their petals will likely be pretty crispy. Before we opened the first door of the Advent calendar on Monday, December 1, Black Friday had already brought us some white stuff. It was not even enough to be considered a coating, but enough to photograph, and it melted pretty quickly. In the photo above, a This stack of penguins is just tall enough to place the star atop the tree at Kowloon. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) few flakes are briefly cradled in the evergreen leaves of Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis). Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) on the stone walls of Park Press still showed some bright fall color this week. This climber on the warm south facing side of the building benefited from stored heat in the stones to keep warm a little longer than it might in any other microclimate. Despite the common name, this vine is not native to Boston, Mass., or Boston, England, but to Asia. The common name came from its abundance on stone and brick buildings in Boston and Cambridge, Mass. It is closely related to Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and slightly less closely to grapes (Vitis spp.), all of which are in the grape family (Vitaceae). Even more surprising for this time of year were the sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) blooming in front of the building on Thanksgiving Day! Boston ivy still shows some foliage color on the stone walls of Park Press on Main Street. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) What looks like leopard spots on the leaves of many Norway maples around town is tar spot. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) Many people have been noticing spots caused by a fungus disease of maples known as tar spot (Rhytisma spp.). While it is not fatal to the trees, it can be unattractive as the foliage becomes discolored, first by yelRed roses were still blooming this week beside the post office in Cliftondale. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) low spots, which by late summer or fall become black, hence the descriptive common name. While I have seen it primarily on Norway maples (Acer platanoides), most other maple species (Acer spp.) are also susceptible. This fungus can spread from one maple species to another, especially in wet and windy spring weather when spores are produced. Fungicide applied in spring can help trees not yet infected, and cleaning up affected leaves from the ground in late summer and fall will help keep it from spreading from one tree to nearby healthy maples. Unfortunately, compost piles don’t usually get hot enough to destroy the fungus, which is capable of overwintering in our climate. Many woody plants have already dropped their leaves, but a few non-evergreen species still have some foliage attached. Sweet peas bloomed on Thanksgiving Day in front of Park Press. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) Early snow on evergreen leaves of perennial Lenten rose. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) GARDENS | SEE PAGE 16
15 Publizr Home