A festive specimen of winterberry holly marks the season, in this case from the ditch between Shore Road and Route 6 in North Truro. While its spiky evergreen cousins are famously associated with the holidays, the deciduous Ilex verticillata celebrates December in its own way: naked as a jaybird, berries out. It thrives in moist to wet soil conditions — a heavy drinker, you might say — and can be found growing wild in low poorly drained areas throughout the Cape. Tamed in the garden, this smooth-leaved native holly makes a beautiful addition to the shrub border and doubles as a showstopping bird feeder in the winter.