Blizzards have their benefits. Let’s consider a few.

Soil warmth
Welcome the early arrival of a thick blanket of snow. It insulates trees, plants, shrubs, bulbs and groundcovers from the icy torture of alternate freezing and thawing, where fragile roots are torn and ripped, making them vulnerable to arid winter air. Heaving earth also pushes perennials, whether flower or vegetable, out of their protective earthen layers. But the snow, the glorious snow warms the soil protecting it from deeper freezing and its damaging effects. If some areas need additional mulch you many apply it atop the snow. Holiday evergreens ready for disposal make perfect candidates. Turn them into the compost pile in the spring when clipping and shredding is easier.

Wind protection
The prevailing northwest winds with their intermittent gusts rarely rip a heavy blanket of snow from tender buds and branches. But bare ground is easily scoured with a light breeze, precious topsoil lifted and sent elsewhere. With heavy wet snow your garden, treasures are hidden from icy blasts. Snow does not smother like some blankets. Pockets of air occupy the tiny spaces found among the flakes.

Moisture blanket
Slowly melting snow releases much-needed moisture without the damage of winter downpours. Roots are not drowned and the Earth is not washed away. Lighter-weight mulch is secured in place instead of washed down steep slopes. If you are worried that drought-tolerant plants (herbs like lavender and rosemary) may be swimming in too much moisture, check their location and plan for a sunny transplant to the southwest side of the property, if they are not already there. When the snow pulls away, you pull away any organic mulch and replace with light-colored pebbles.

Browsing critters
Deer and voles may have raised the browse line with the added lift of a foot of snow. So renew all physical barriers and reapply chemical deterrents when temperatures rise above 35 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ice damage
Aside from the shoveling and brushing of snow from floppy branches, there are a few drawbacks to snow, especially when accompanied by ice. Check for deadwood before pruning away broken limbs, for deadwood can be pruned anytime. Unless they are a danger to you, leave the tattered and torn until spring leaf-out when pruning for shape and health makes sense.

Plan for snow
Peonies are the only plants that have traditionally been planted beside driveways and walkways in anticipation of mounding snow. Thickly layered organic mulch is discouraged, as it is an incubator of botrytis, the bane of peonies. The cool insulation snow provides, protects peonies from this nemesis.
Delicate shrubs now set below icy overhangs next to your house or shed should be transplanted, come spring. If that is not possible, redirect the impending avalanches with a frame and cover. Spare your roadside turf and plants the harsh effects of de-icing chemicals by first shoveling then spreading coarse sand, unused kitty litter, cinders or wood ashes.
Enjoy the benefits a snowstorm brings to your garden. It is ample preparation for Central Virginia’s usual mid-summer drought.

The Virginia Master Gardeners are volunteer educators who work within their communities to encourage and promote environmentally sound horticulture practices through sustainable landscape management, education and training. The Virginia Master Gardeners is an education program of Virginia Cooperative Extension, which brings the resources of Virginia’s land grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, to the people of the commonwealth. For more information, visit http://www.fluvannamg.org.