Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, DECEmbEr 12, 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 he cold moon was still very striking last week as it shone between clouds several evenings, including last Friday during the tree lighting. On Monday evening I was lucky to see a gleaming moon “glade” on Birch Pond, as the moon’s reflection cast a bright path over the surface of the water. Some sections of our ponds have begun to freeze, due to the cold temperatures of recent nights, while other areas still have some open water. One of the native groundcovers that stand out at this time of year is wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens). There are a few places in Breakheart Reservation where it can be found growing, and small pots of it are popular gift plants for Christmas because of its bright red berries and evergreen leaves. Potted wintergreen can be enjoyed through the winter inside on a windowsill, but if you receive one as a gift it can also be planted outside once the ground thaws in the spring. It is perfectly hardy in our climate and will spread slowly in a shady garden over the years. Cultivated varieties often have much larger berries than the ones you would find in the woods. There is also a white berried variety that is showing up in florist shops and garden centers. The waning gibbous moon on Monday night cast a shining moon “glade” over Birch Pond. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) Against the colorful berries, the contrasting leaves are dark green, with new foliage often a dark reddish color, which adds to the decorative effect of the plant through the winter. When spring comes, small white bellshaped flowers will bloom, similar to the blossoms of blueberries. It grows wild in acidic woodland throughout eastern North America, from Canada to as far south as Alabama. As is often the case with plants that have a broad range, there are several common names by which the plant and its fruit are known, including checkerberry, teaberry, deerberry and boxberry. Wintergreen berries are edible, and I remember from childhood my mother pointing them out and sometimes eating them on a walk through the woods. The flavor would be familiar to most people, as wintergreen flavored candies have long been popular. Old-fashioned pink Canada mints, for example, have a wintergreen flavor. Another somewhat nostalgic An urn planted with wintergreen and an arrangement of balsam branches share space on a porch in Lynnhurst. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) product for many people would be teaberry chewing gum. The leaves and berries are fragrant. Many kinds of wildlife eat the berries, including squirrels, chipmunks, turkeys and even deer, especially in winter when less food is generally available. Wintergreen is a member of the heath family (Ericaceae), which is a large family with many popular plants, including rhododendrons and azaleas (both in the Rhododendron genus), blueberries (Vaccinium spp.), cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon), heather (Calluna spp.), heath (Erica spp.) and many others — over 4,000 individual species. Many are evergreen, but there are also deciduous species like the blueberries and some species of azaleas. Frequently bluejays (CyanocAn unusual blue jay with pale feathers on its head and crest appeared at my feeder late last week and has been a daily visitor since. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) A white-berried form of our native wintergreen has been popular this season as a holiday decoration. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) itta cristata) visit my bird feeder, and there are often four or five bluejays in the shrubs and trees near the feeder waiting their turn. Recently one appeared among them that had a very different look — its head and crest were very pale blue, lacking the bright blue and black tipped feathers of all the others, although from the shoulders down they had the regular coloration pattern of other birds. Leucistic coloration can occur in many animal and bird species. The main difference between leucistic and albino coloration is that albino animals lack all pigment and will have pinkish eyes, while leucistic animals have the normal eye color of the species, and the fur or feathers can be white or a very pale version of the typical color. I would describe this bird’s head colors as ice blue, and the eyes are dark like those of other blue jays. 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.
15 Publizr Home