Dealing With a Winter That Wasn’t

Is it snow where you are ? Here in the Northeast we ’ve had a evenhandedly mild wintertime so far . There has been snow , but not much of it . Temperatures have dropped into the individual dactyl , but two days afterward we ’ve been in the upper 40s . I roll in the hay that might seem chilly to you Southerners , but for January in Connecticut , it ’s considered balmy . Frankly , I ’m distressed about my garden .

This winter , like many in the recent past , just is n’t what my plants are used to ( or built for ) . With no insulating snow cover , I ’m afraid that my cosmetic grasses might suffer some serious dieback . The halt - thaw cycles are already bring havoc on my heucheras . I ’ve already noticed a couple gag out of the ground . They ’re goners for indisputable .

But as a gardener , I ’ve prepared myself mentally for the challenge that lie ahead . And I ’m trying to discover the silver lining . I will likely suffer some plants this winter , but that creates opportunities to replace those plants with heartier pick . The meek temporary have intend that I have n’t risked frostbite while doing some wintertime pruning . And possibly the weather condition pattern are setting up to present us an early spring !

I recently reread the article by Bert Cregg ongardening in a changing clime . In it he says , “ One often - look across aspect of climate modification is that winter lower limit temperatures are rise quicker than overall intermediate temperature . ” We on a regular basis babble about the deficiency of rain during a raise season and attribute that to clime change , but ardent wintertime are n’t generally part of the conversation . My plant choices are sure as shooting changing thanks to warmer temps , but Bert stresses the grandness of thing like a right mulch layer around plants to compensate for the absence seizure of insulating snowfall cover . Since I skipped mulching the last two years , I ’m likely in trouble . But since it ’s so balmy outside , maybe I should get out there with the wheelbarrow now — or sit around and drink this ice of red wine . Tough selection .

— Danielle Sherry , executive editor

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