Why Your Garden Needs a Winter Coat

It’s been an interesting start to 2018, here in North America. Yesterday, my car thermometer read -2°F, and I believe the high was 6°F. Today, we expect more of the same.

Luckily, plenty of snow had accumulated prior to these sub-zero temperatures. “Luckily, what?!” you say.

Yes, it is good for the garden to be insulated from the bitter cold. Snow and ice are actually insulators that keep the heat in, keep it from traveling away from the plants. Mother Nature knows what she is doing.

So do the citrus growers, who may coat their trees with water when the temperatures are predicted to dip below freezing.  Some photo bloggers have posted pictures of ice and snow in the Deep South over the past week. Hopefully, this precipitation will protect their gardens from the abnormal cold.

So, when you look at the following photos (my Six-on-Saturday), think warm, not cold! Alternatively, check out The Propagator for photos of gardens from around the world. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is summer, after all!

River birch covered with snow
The River Birch is a little warmer, thanks to the snow blower’s fluffy coat.
Burning bushes covered with several inches of snow.
The burning bushes don’t look so hot today!
Tree trunk of a tulip poplar shows fine, regular bark patterns.
Tree bark patterns can help identify trees when leaves are nowhere to be found. This is our beloved Tulip poplar.

 

White pine covered in four inches of snow.
Evergreens benefit from snow cover, too, as their needles can lose moisture in cold, dry weather.
Red Christmas lights coated with snow
I can’t bear to take down the Christmas lights just yet. They are the only color in our landscape right now.
Dark brown Baptisia pea pods and branches covered with snow
Favorite photo from this set – the contrast is so striking. Good thing this Baptisia never got cut back!

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Author: A. JoAnn

Here is where I share the beauty I find in everyday life; and the humor, too!

7 thoughts

  1. Thanks! The only downside is the ugly brown mush that is now forming in the driveway and streets. I’ll take four seasons anytime, over the same ol’ weather everyday.

  2. Your garden looks fantastic in its winter coat. I love how nature calms and quiets down under this crisp white blanket. Even in the city we noticed it was much quieter than usual – no sirens at all!

  3. Snow is a mixed blessing. It insulates but it also weighs down.I always have a grand plan in the back of my mind to photograph its beauty and then knock a lot of it off just the things which are clearly bending under it’s weight. But, fortunately or otherwise, we rarely see snow here. In 26 years I’ve only seen a coating of white in three.

  4. Lovely lovely winterscapes. We are having the opposite problem here with no precipitation at all. No snow, rain and very little frost. That’s not fun for the plants

  5. Lovely! I worry about us if it goes up to the 40 degrees by midweek and the 3 ft. of snow we have starts to melt then refreezes. It will be a mess but hopefully will still keep the trees and grounds protected.

  6. Nice shots, Pam! It does look wonderful – from afar!
    We have river birches too in our backyard habitat – we love them and they do well along the pond and bogs that make up our “yard”.

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