• Home
  • Meet Mary Schier
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Northern Gardener Book

My Northern Garden

April 12, 2010 · 5 Comments

What Makes A “Perfect” Winter in Minnesota?

Climate

I was talking with a gentleman whose garden Northern Gardener will be profiling in 2011. (Yes, we really work more than a year in advance!) He was excited about having a photographer come out to his place because he expected it would look really, really good this year. “We had a perfect winter for gardens,” he said.

Why? Snow. Early snow, heavy snow, and snow that did not melt.

snow on garden

For a perfect winter, gardeners in the north need early snow and lots of it.

We had some early snow in November, then around Dec. 10, Northfield and environs (including the Twin Cities) had a whopper of a storm that left another 10-plus inches. We had another big one around Feb. 8-10. According to the University of Minnesota Climatology Working Group, most of Minnesota was under between 18 inches and 2 feet of snow most of the winter. In my area, we had up to 30 inches of snow cover at one time — and believe me, as the main snow shoveler at our place this winter, it felt like a lot more. So, a perfect winter for plants may not be a great winter for your back.

Snow is a fabulous insulator of plants. It keeps them reasonably snug, and most importantly, protects them from blistering cold winds and the freeze-and-thaw cycle. As a result, when the snow melted (rather rapidly) in March, the plants were raring to go.

Related posts:

  1. Red-Twig Dogwood: Winter Wonder-Shrub In summer, gardeners rely on flowers and foliage for color....
  2. Will Newly Planted Plants Survive a Cold Spell? With a couple of inches of snow falling and temperatures...
  3. An Early Spring? Last week’s warm weather seems to have jump started some...
« A New Appreciation for a Formal Gardens
Blooms Ahead of Schedule »

Comments

  1. Laura says

    April 12, 2010 at 2:00 pm

    We did not get enough snow this year. Mind you we got way too much snow the year before, so maybe mother nature is just trying to balance things out. One things for certain, she sure has the plants confused!

  2. Rhonda Fleming Hayes says

    April 28, 2010 at 9:11 am

    Snow is a great insulator! All my zone 5 herbs and a few possibly zone 6ers all came back. What a pleasant surprise. But the real kicker…when I went to pull out the leftover debris of Salvia guaranitica “Black and Blue” (zone 7), there were live green tubers under the soil. Now if they come that will be truly amazing.

Trackbacks

  1. My Northern Garden » Blog Archive » Volunteers vs. Weeds says:
    June 24, 2010 at 10:27 am

    […] and its parentage. I still get volunteer tomatoes — tons of them this year because of our near perfect winter in Minnesota. And, occasionally, I let them grow just to see what they […]

  2. My Northern Garden » Blog Archive » More than Six Months of Gardening in Minnesota? Yep. says:
    October 25, 2010 at 3:28 pm

    […] that is by my estimate at least two and maybe four weeks longer than normal. The combination of a near perfect winter in 2009-2010 with plenty of snowfall and an early snow melt followed by very moderate spring […]

  3. This is Not a Perfect Winter for Plants - My Northern Garden says:
    February 6, 2019 at 2:40 pm

    […] an experienced gardener once told me, the perfect winter for northern gardens involves “early snow, heavy snow and snow that does not melt.” […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed for Posts

Grow it, Minnesota Podcast

Now Available!

My Northern Garden book

Follow on Instagram

mynortherngarden_mary

Did I mention how exquisite the plant material is Did I mention how exquisite the plant material is at Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia? I’ll be doing a full blog post soon about this and some of the other gardens we visited but as I’m heading home I’m cherishing all the great people on the Garden Fling tour, the amazing organizer @karl_gercens_ and the beautiful places we saw. 
.
.
.
#gbfling2023 #grateful #phillyfling #pennsylvaniafling #gardenbloggersfling #gardenbloggers

#baileynurseries  #cobrahead #crescentgarden #dramm #ealicata #gardenrant #thegreatgrowalong #longwoodgardens #monroviaplants #nwfs #northwestflowerandgardenfestival #picklewix #provenwinners #sandiaseed  #teakcloseouts
Philadelphia gardens are full of lush and lanes, t Philadelphia gardens are full of lush and lanes, tree snags and lichen. Perfect accent for our rainy garden tour. #gbfling2023 #americasgardencapital #lichen #fallgarden
Wait for it! The best gardens have secrets within Wait for it! The best gardens have secrets within them. #gbfling2023 #americasgardencapital #gardensecrets #paths #gardendestinations
Just 15 seconds of water sounds to ease you into y Just 15 seconds of water sounds to ease you into your weekend courtesy of @longwoodgardens fountains. Have a great one! #watermusic #gbfling2023 #phillyfling #americasgardencapital #soothing
I’ve loved this container in the front of our ho I’ve loved this container in the front of our house, but things are looking faded, so it’s time for a refresh. Out went the Persimmon supertunias (love them, but they have done their duty) and a new cuphea I’m testing (great plant.) In go fall celosia in bright yellow and bronze orange garden mum, both from @shopbachmans. I kept the Queen Tut papyrus for its spikey texture. We’re ready for fall! 

#fallcontainer #fallplanting #fallcelosia #gardenmums #mngardener #fallinMinnesota
Meet shaggy soldier, a weed that I have gotten to Meet shaggy soldier, a weed that I have gotten to know quite a bit this summer. It spreads like crazy, seeds abundantly and is all over my community garden. Sone sources say it is an edible herb but I’m just pulling for now. Next year, I’ll smother it out with newspaper, cardboard and/or mulch. What weed is your nemesis this year? #weedsinmygarden #galinsoga #shaggysoldier #mngarden #communitygarden #weedy #herborweed
Just another morning in the garden with my monarch Just another morning in the garden with my monarch friends. Have a peaceful, joyous Sunday! #communitygarden #monarchbutterfly #weekendvibes💕 #pollinators
What’s the difference between having enough sun What’s the difference between having enough sun and plenty of sun in the garden? These two Tithonias tell the tale! 

Plus don’t forget to stop by the @mnhort booth in the dirt wing of the Horticultural building at the @mnstatefair! I’ll be there Sunday from 1 to 5 pm and would love to hear how your garden is growing! 

#sunorshade #veggarden #communitygarden #howmuchsundoyouneed #tithonia #mexicansunflower
It’s a hot 🥵 hot day and nobody is moving too It’s a hot 🥵 hot day and nobody is moving too fast. Savor the slow. #nectar #zinniasofinstagram #beelife #mngarden
Ground cherries look like tomatillos but taste lik Ground cherries look like tomatillos but taste like tropical fruit.
They are an acquired taste but I love them, especially in a spicy jam. 

For this recipe, I mixed

2.5 cups of cleaned ground cherries, 
half a cup of water,
1 cup sugar
a few stray strawberries from the fridge,
 juice of a small lemon, 
a 1-inch piece of ginger
1 tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg

 Boil away until it is thick. Store in the fridge and use as you would any jam. 

#communitygarden #groundcherries #mngardener #cookfromthegarden
What a fabulous day, touring gardens with garden c What a fabulous day, touring gardens with garden communicators from all over the U.S. and beyond! Minnesota gardens looked good today. Than you, @gardencomm_gci for visiting the Twin Cities!
Ribbit! Saw this beauty enjoying a beautiful garde Ribbit! Saw this beauty enjoying a beautiful garden in Washington County today. #daylily #gardentour #mngarden
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • What to Do with Not-Quite-Ripe Winter Squash? Recipes Included
  • Can You Eat a Sweet Potato Vine Tuber?
  • How to Pollinate a Meyer Lemon Tree
  • Four Peony Problems and Solutions
  • How to Grow Lemons in the North (Plus a Recipe)
  • Growing Lilies in Containers
  • Mushrooms Growing in Straw Bales
  • Jams, Jellies, Preserves: What's the Difference?
  • Sedum is an Autumn Joy
  • Big Changes in Minnesota Hardiness Zone Map

Post Categories

  • Books/Writing
  • Climate
  • How to
  • Plants
  • Recipes
  • Uncategorized
  • Why We Garden

Copyright © 2023 · captivating theme by Restored 316