How to protect your garden from winter snow

Sending out an S.O.S....Save Our Shoots!

Snow is coming and I'm slightly going into over protective parent mode with my plants!!
This winter the weather in Seattle has been mild to say the least. By this time last year we had already had a number of days in the negatives plus measurable snow fall, maybe even a few snow days at school...but here we get an inch on the ground and its called the "Snow-apocalypse" (*snowpocalypse please refer to #2) Seattle is good at freaking out and over reacting to snow!! Oh my god its sticking, what do we do???

Which leads me to think...am I just over-reacting? There is snow in the forecast for this weekend and my garden is already starting to shoot! Yesterday we had a high of 51 with blue sunny skies, gorgeous! I woke to a frost this morning with temps of 34...how ever will my plants cope from such extremes?

Last year I lost a number of plants including two of my gorgeous white Hydrangeas, which I am playing favorite child to at the moment as I don't want to lose any more! My other favorite that is susceptible to frost damage is my Magnolia which is covered in hundreds of tiny buds, I would be devastated if something happened to it! Also my Confederate Star Jasmine is finally recovering from snow-apocalypse 2011...sigh!

 RIP Hydrangea, the Apocalypse of 2011's first casualty

What am I to do? The gardens are for the most part winterized with a large amount of mulch over the garden beds protecting the roots, about 2inches deep keeping away from the trunks. For mulch I used what my garden provided for free, just by raking the fallen leaves straight on to the beds it provided enough...thanks mother nature! I have to check the soil from time to time as it has been a dry winter, to make sure the moisture is penetrating the soil under the mulch. I have noticed that under certain trees I have had to water the shrubs as the soil had dried so much...Crazy to water a garden in winter, in Seattle!!
But what about the tender, helpless, vulnerable new born shoots? Do I protect them with a covering? Wrap them? Just let the snow do its thing?

 My technique last year....The crazy gardening neighbor

 Rose shoots from last year, they really didn't seem to mind!

The more I read about what to do, the more I want to scream at my computer...I can not bring them inside over the winter months!! No they can not be a house plant till the warmer weather returns!! Really is that the only option? OK 20ft Magnolia looks like your sharing the house with us, not likely! I am not about to dig my huge hydrangea out of the garden to relocate to a pot to bring in my house. I think I'll try the burlap route this year, swaddle them until the snow passes?

Covering: This is one of the most effective ways of protecting the foliage of evergreen shrubs. Like Rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas and early flowering plants will often benefit from being covered with some type of cloth material during extremely cold weather..It is also effective for plants with new shoots! (yay)
Start by placing three or four stakes around the plant being protected. I have some bamboo stakes I will use for this. Next drape the cloth material over the stakes, being careful that the cloth does not come in contact with the leaves as it can cause freeze. Do not use plastics for this job, as it not only cuts off air to the plant, it also acts much like a greenhouse which can cause leaf rot to form, taking plants from nightly lows to high daily temperature in a relatively short time period. This rapid temperature change can cause serious freeze damage or may be fatal to plants.
Any type of covering should only be left in place during the cold spell. As soon as the weather moderates or it begins to rain, remove the covering completely. However, leave the stakes in case it gets cold again.
Burlap (which my friend showed me you can get for free from local feed stores, thanks Jill), old moving blankets, sheets or similar cloth or fabric materials are the best types to use as a cover over plants. Attaching with clothes pins is useful to keep them secure and sturdy for the weight of the snow.

This will work well for my shrubs but in regards to my Magnolia I have no clue?

Fellow garden bloggers....What are your experiences with mild winters and late frost/snow? Would love to hear your survival techniques!! Any other over protective Magnolia parents out there?

Some other useful sites...
Winter protection for Hydrangeas
Shrub protection from the snow

Buds, please don't bloom to quickly!

So much in my garden at the moment is luscious green and budding! Besides the roses and hydrangeas all other flowers are still wrapped tightly in their buds hiding, maybe from all this rain? One thing I am grateful for, is all this waiting has made me appreciate the beauty to be found in a bud, the moment before they burst open and the bloom steals the spot light....

The bud of a Star Jasmine (Confederate Jasmine) I love the curl of this bud, its unlike any other I have seen. The swirl of the tip with the soon to be petals and the fragrant smell that is already lingering. This is one of my "thought dead" Jasmine that survived after a brutal winter, making these buds a happy sight indeed.

This plant keeps coming back every year, one of those plants I don't remember ever planting and just appeared one day by surprise. These little buds are so soft and velvety and form in little clusters at the tips of its long stems. It fits into the scheme of things pretty well, gorgeous bunches of small purple blooms growing right next to my lavender, peonies and hydrangeas its a very pretty patch in my back garden.
However, does anyone know what it is called?

Endless summer Mop-head Hydrangea, these blooms will be huge once in bloom spanning the size of a dinner plate. But these little tinny buds remind me of a pin cushion, so beautiful and round contrasting against the jagged spiky leaves. Oh the excitement to see what color this one will bring. Last year this particular plant bloomed in all shades of blues and pinks as if it couldn't make up its mind, an indecisive plant I love it!

Again another mystery plant that I do not remember planting? It has appeared in my garden for the last 3 yrs and returns only to have spread further through the garden bed, I do love it! The gorgeous little round buds first appear in July with a late summer show and is usually the last flower in the garden in early fall. The buds appear on long thin stems bursting with one or two on a plant. The flowers themselves are quite "art nouveau" looking, something you would see in a 1920's art work...beautiful!

Finally my snap-dragon is just now blooming! With spring come and gone, this flower is a little slow to wake up this year. It has been frozen in bud stage for two months and I was wondering if it would ever pop its flowers. I am so excited to see the petals now finally emerging....the blooms are coming!!

I loved the walk through my garden appreciated the different buds, they are all so unique and beautiful in their own ways, I am looking forward to discovering more. 

Are there any unique looking buds that you have growing? I am loving the bud stage!

Wordless Wednesday...Heady Hydrangeas

At long last the Heady Hydrangeas burst forth in all their exhilarating splendor....

May...Peeks of buds bring Spring delight

 June...Anticipation of color to be?

July...Explosions of blue sing summer is here!

I love my Hydrangeas

There is just something so beautiful about these flowers. The fullness of a bloom, the stunning colors, the playfulness of the long stems. The unpredictability of what color you can get on one plant! I love them as a fresh-cut or dried arrangement. But most of all, I love them decorating my yard.

All in all I have 12 Hydrangeas, ranging in all sorts of sizes, colors, shapes and health. They are all the same type, regular old mophead. On my property they are in all areas of sun and shade, moist and dry soil, a real variance in how to care for them individually. Can make it a little tricky, as what works for one, may not work for another. This could be the reason I have lost a few?
So I guess I should address the health of them first. I believe most if my Hys came from the previous owners grandfather. Most of them seem to be well established and over 6ft tall. The year we moved in they were doing great, this was about 4yrs ago. Since then I have lost one of the huge ones out the front, two white ones from down the east side and have given one away to make room for a playground. Not sure what caused the three to die, it is indeed very sad!
I also have some that seem to flower and put out more greenery every year. There is one that usually gets a dozen or so blooms while others produce over a hundred.

So far what I have learnt....

• They love lots of water, moist ground is there favorite. This may of been why I list two if the white ones.

• They love part sun to sun, i have 3 that get the full afternoon sun, this tends to brown the flowers and require more water to keep them happy.

• They don't like competition. This may of been why the third one died as it was in a very crowded spot in the yard, under a fruit and a lilac tree. Not to mention a self-seeded cotton wood.

• They like to be deadheaded after the last frost of winter. The deadheads I believe protect the new buds from being burnt.

• Deadhead them when it's a little warmer and the first signs of spring, I usually do it when I see my tulips start to sprout up.

• Deadhead them just above where there are two new shoots together, leaving about half an inch of stem above.

What I would like to learn this year:
What makes them sick with black spot?
How to protect the blooms from burning?
What caused my three dead ones to die? So I can try and prevent it from happening again =(

To make your blooms turn a specific color (except white, unfortunately bleach in the soil does not turn them white, you have to buy a white hydrangea)
For blue add:

• Aluminum sulfate, 3 to 4 Tablespoons per gallon of water, applied 2 times, 2 weeks apart, 4 to 6 months prior to blooming.
• You can also add egg shells, coffee grinds, ground-up Orange or Grapefruit peels

For pink add:

• Add dolomic lime, 3-8 cups around the base of a large plant (less around a small one) 2 or 3 times between the blooming seasons.
• Or try a bit of superphosphate around the base of the plant.

For purple add:

• I have NO clue...lol! apparently its hard to do. I have one out the front that is the deepest of deep purples. But honestly I have no idea how it got that way, neither do those online!

I have even had blooms with multi colored heads, pink and blue on the same stem, crazy!

I know its winter, so its the worst time to take pics, but wanted to show them during the dormant stage and will update with growth phase pics in summer. These are my babies...



#1 This one is usually a pale blue and gets the most west sun, very water logged area and as you can see gets hundreds of blooms.



#2 In the same front garden as above, but a little more protected from the western sun. Usually a deep purple. One of the biggest.



#3 Rest in peace. This was my first to die. Also out the front in the corner garden under a fruit tree. Was a beautiful pink/red



#4 Also located in the same garden. This one is my tallest. Easily over 8ft tall, pink/red produces lots of blooms



#5 This one is up on a retaining wall and did not get enough water last year. Am hopping it will bud soon. One of my sick whites :(



#6 One of the prettiest colors ever, very royal blue almost turquoise. East side of house gets morning sun, retaining wall garden, maybe too much drainage?



#7 pretty blue that seems to be doing well, all the same conditions as #6



#8 Rest in peace :( this one was my most absolute favorite! Pure white/pale green so pretty. Lost it last summer, I think due to lack of water?



#9 Baby blue and very happy (knock on wood!) this one is in a west facing garden in the back yard. Afternoon sun shaded by the plum tree. Next to the playground. Has taken punishment but is going strong.



#10 this is one of my rather pathetic looking ones. Never gets a full bloom or lots of new growth. Also Lanky and sparse.



#11 North garden gets morning sun in late spring/summer. Pretty blue/pink it can't make up it's mind! Is doing better every year. Filling out, used to be like #10.



#12 My last one, this is the only one planted on the west of my property protected by being planted on the east side of the fence. It's a little crowded. Produces a beautiful white, seems really happy, moist soil.

Let's see how they do this year! Fingers crossed for a healthy happy, hydrangea year in the Northwest!!!!

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