Sunday, January 22, 2012

Time to get out and de-ice the garden!

After spending a bit of time in the garden yesterday, being wowed by the ice coverage, then later that night being mesmerized by its icy-sparkling beauty.

 Ice in all its beauty!

I thought it time to get my gardening gear on aka, snow gear and head out to asses the state of my plants. Up until now I had only really been out the back, so today I ventured out-front..."shock and awe" was what I found!



The power of mother nature was seen in my yard that day...tree limbs were down across the street, shrubs that once stood 15ft tall I was now able to look over and I'm only just over 5ft! My 25ft Italian Cypress which used to stand proud was now something out of a Dr. Seuss book and the amount of ice weighing down the plants was totally unbelievable.

 Even after ice removal the Italian Cypress is still to stand upright, I may need to get up there and tie it.

While the boys went of sledding, I had no choice but to stay and get busy and remove some of this weight in hopes to save my strained plants. It almost felt like I was saving a child! (not that I'm dramatic or anything!) At first I could lift off the huge 2-3in layers of ice, like shields that had been placed to protect my plants from the cold. I was removing 1 to 5 pound chunks, my poor plants! After the easy stuff was removed, it was time to start breaking up the huge chunks that encased the leaves, this was a lot harder to remove and required more muscle and creative techniques. I found a quick karate chop action was the most successful, it would pass the ice between the branches doing less damage. But ouuuie after an hour of this, my poor hands! I also used the broom handle and other tools. I eventually just took my gloves off and started to hitting the plants with them.

Before and after, wish I could've captured this better. The boxus above was crushed under ice and was barely 1ft high (usually 4.5ft ) I thought it was gone for sure.

I was shocked by the sight of my flattened garden but in awe of how resilient my plants truly are!

My tips for removing ice from plants...
  • Remove the biggest chunks of lose ice first.
  • Then start removing the attached ice by largest working from the ground up. (I found if I started this from the top, the top ice would fall on the lower branches which are still covered in ice, placing even more strain on the lower ones) Its a little more work but totally worth it! Trying to come from the underside of the branch and going with the direction of the branches.
  • Once I could remove as much as I could, I would firmly grab a main limb and give it a gentle shake, dislodging most of the snow and broken ice.

32 comments:

  1. The ice is beautiful and deceptively destructive. All my shrubs that were buried under our snow sprang back up. Plants are very resilient. Careful out there!

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    1. Glad to hear your plants are all ok, they are surprisingly resistant to what mother nature throws there way.

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  2. Wow, you aren't kidding. Those do look like something out of Dr. Suess! I hope your poor plants make it!

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    1. Thanks =) They are still rather Suess like. Next time you are up in the Highlands you should check out the row of evergreens next to the cemetery, now those are straight out of hooville...lol!

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  3. Your garden looks like mine with all that ice but without the snow cover. It is treacherous to try to walk on. Stay safe.

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    1. Hope your garden is doing well too Lona. Thanks for stopping by! I've also just nominated your blog for an award =) Cheers

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  4. You guys got hit in this storm way worse than I expected! We got some snow and dodged the ice. I bet your plants appreciate the weight reduction. Luv the Kung Fu chop method!! Cheers, Jenni

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    1. Hey Jenni, so did you guys ever get it down your way? I heard you were hit by some pretty big wind storms? Hope you are safe and warm. Also, I was surprised how well the Kung Fu chop worked, must of been a site to witness, there goes that crazy neighbor again...lol!

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  5. Sorry to see what the ice and snow have done to your shrubs. I know your efforts have given them some relief. I hope your cypresses go back to their former shape.

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    1. Thanks Holley, the Cypress is yet to return to normal =( will have to get up there and tie it up I think. Yeah me on a ladder, that is so not happening anytime soon, will have to bribe Hubby for that job...hehe!

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  6. Hoping your garden bounces back nicely from the storm, Julia. It's always such a shock to see your garden after an unusual weather event. Thankfully, they are resilient. Just followed you on Pinterest...love spending time there although it can be such a time drain!

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    1. Glad your on Pinterest, I'm following you back Cat, it is such a time sap!! But in an odd way you feel productive...lol!

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  7. Ice does photograph nicely doesn't it? ;) I hope your plants recover! Hope there wasn't any damage to your house.

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    1. Thanks Bumble, I just wish I had the SLR camera as opposed to my hubby's phone. Gosh that thing takes crap pictures!! Hence the terrible photo-shopping, yeah look at that I have a yellow house now...lol! The house for the most part is fine and so are the plants, thank god for that! Thanks for stopping by, I always love seeing your cheery yellow sunflower =)

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  8. I remember some fantastic ice storms in Nebraska. Hope your garden recovers !
    Keep warm and watch out for icicles of doom.

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    1. The icicles of doom were surely lurking, but lucky they were no match to my kung fu karate chop!! Garden is for the most part recovered...knock on wood! Thanks for the visit, I am so happy you stopped by!!

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  9. Oh my! Hope you had a nice cup of tea after that! We had a branch come down off our old tree this morning due to snow and wind.

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    1. Oh no, hope it wasn't a favorite tree? There are some branches that I would be devastated loosing but then there are others that would save me a job if they did come down. Hope yours was the later!! A yummy hot Tea was had followed later by wine..hehe!

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  10. Steely icicles - well you got your snow!

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  11. We're used to the snow here--and usually as dramatic as it looks, the plants bounce right back. But ice is entirely different! It really does scare me and it can really cause major damage to plants, structures, and human lives. Take care!

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    1. Thanks Beth, it was a crazy few days but everything and everyone are safe, its now the aftermath and makes for some good neighborhood conversation. cheers!

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  12. Sorry you have to deal with this. Good luck.

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    1. Thnks Greggo, all is good, no favorites lost and those plants that didn't make it will make room for new purchases this year...exciting!!

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  13. Great post.Thanks for sharing such a useful information with us.

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    1. you are welcome! Hope the Kung Fu technique helps you one day ;)

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  14. I hope that you'll see things rebound come spring. Mother Nature is awesome in both her beauty and destructive power.

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    1. Could not have been better said!! Looking forward to the first blooms, you just don't know what is OK till you see it luscious and green! Thanks for stopping by =)

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  15. Aggghhh I am so sorry for all of your plants, such damage from Mother Nature, I am sure she didn't intend to do that much.

    At least you went out and fixed things up, when we had something like that a few years ago, people just left the plants. The next spring every where we went there were dead plants hanging out.

    Hope that your garden recovers quickly.

    Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

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    1. I think my garden will be fine. So many of my neighbors did nothing to their gardens and they have all bounced back too. But still it was fun and some what exciting to be out there karate chopping my plants, Couldn't get to the gym so I guess that was the next best thing for a workout...lol! Thanks for stopping by Jen, hope the move is going well =)

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  16. Hey Julia: I’ve awarded you the Versatile Blogger Award: http://bit.ly/yhCUbI. Congrats!

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    1. Thanks Beth, what an honor!! Loved passing this forward, thank you!!

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Thanks for stopping by and reading my latest post! I love sharing my gardening adventures and reading your wonderful comments. Happy digging...Cheers Julia!!

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