Talk about a little slow, but a cold start to winter. Just after Christmas and through the very beginning of the new year, it was just bitter cold. Many nights had below zero temperatures, and the lake effect snow was in high gear. This lasted until mid-January when we started to get some more seasonable temperatures as well as some temperatures a little above average for a few days here…
Read MoreCold Snap!
Just after Christmas 2017 the weather turned cold, bitter cold. We set multiple record low temperatures in the days that followed Christmas. We received snow at a steady rate. Now the question, what is the snow and cold going to do to my landscape. Luckily, the answer is not much for the cold and snow itself. The snow acts as an insulation blanket from the bitter cold temperatures. And on…
Read More2016-2017 Winter Season Wrap Up
Winter started with a bang for the 2016-2107 Winter Season. Heavy wet snow fell in the weeks leading up to Christmas. We reached half of the seasonal average of snowfall for the Grand Rapids area before Christmas. Even though that was here for a solid three weeks, by the time we reached Christmas, it was rainy and warm, with a big thaw. Then the week after Christmas was uneventful. To…
Read MoreEarly Spring Warm Ups
I will have to say that I enjoy the warm weather much more than the cold weather. But as we enter this time of transition between winter and spring, we can only hope for a smooth transition. Early spring warm ups can do quite a bit of damage to plants as they are coming out of dormancy. This is especially the case if we get very warm weather and the…
Read MoreBenefits of a January Thaw
Just about every year, we will thaw out during the winter. We lose the pretty snow cover, and what snow is left turns dirty and brown. It is clearly aesthetically displeasing, but it is quite beneficial for the plants in our landscapes. We know that our plants need water throughout the growing season, but did you know that they need water during the winter also? It can be quite dry…
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