As the temperatures have turned colder, we head in from working on our landscapes. Now we like to find a warm spot in the house when we relax in the winter. It could be with a cup of hot chocolate, it could be by the fire place, or it could be curled up under a blanket. The snow that falls becomes a nice snow blanket for our landscape plants.
The snow helps to insulate our landscape plants from the harsh winter conditions. We can have temperatures that dip way below freezing, but with snow on ground, the surface ground temperatures stay fairly constant.
A snow blanket can also help to minimize wind burn that a plant can receive. The harsh winter winds can dry out our skin quite quickly, it can also dry out certain plants. But when there is snow covering the plant, it is protected from the brutal winter winds.
I am not to say that our plants are not able to take the winter cold. But it doesn’t hurt to have a little extra protection to keep them safe through the long and cold winter months. The extra help is great when we see the flowers in bloom and the leaves starting to come out in the spring.
Even if you do not like the snow and you are only hoping that spring would come quickly, you can at least be thankful for the snow. All of the protection that it provides for our landscapes through the cold winter is a nice benefit.