10 Things About Snow

1. Lots of snow is good - seriously! Good snow cover is important for the winter survival of hardy perennials because it keeps the ground temperature stable. Uncovered ground is subject to rapid fluctuations, known as the freeze-thaw cycle. Freezing and thawing of the ground shifts the soil, which can heave plant roots up out of the ground. Unseasonably mild temperatures can fool a plant into budding; when the temperature turns seasonably freezing again, the tender parts get "nipped in the bud", which can affect the development of the plant or even kill it.




2. Every snowflake is symmetrical. When you examine individual flakes, some will be unsymmetrical, but this is because they have been damaged. Scientists are not certain why the crystals form symmetrically, though there are theories about surface tension and microcosmic fluctuations in temperature. (Huh?)

3. What to do with burlap. Covers and tents for evergreens in winter are not meant to keep them warm but to protect them from sun scald and the drying effects of the wind. The trees still need plenty of air circulation, so it is recommended that you not wrap your evergreens but build a frame around them to make a little tent that does not touch the branches.



4. Big snow. Snow takes up eight times as much space as liquid water. Try it for yourself: if you put eight inches of snow in a straight-sided glass and take it inside, you should have roughly one inch of water when it melts.

5. Plant 'em if you got 'em. Snow doesn't necessarily stop you from planting bulbs, if the ground isn't frozen. If you can dig a hole in the earth, you can put a plant in it, even with the snow flying around you. The same is true with bulbs. Planting season isn't over until the ground is frozen solid. (As a procrastinator, I know this from experience!)

6. Watermelon snow. Some snow is pink and smells like watermelon, but not around here. Watermelon snow is most commonly found in the high-altitude Sierra Nevada of California, where snow is present through the long days of summer. The colour comes from a kind of algae called Chlamydomonas nivalis. It's a cold-loving alga that contains bright red carotenoid pigment. The phenomenon of watermelon snow, which turns to deep blood red when compacted, was reported as far back as the writings of Aristotle.

7. Frost flowers are beautiful, ephemeral flowers made of ice. A gorgeous phenomenon in wetlands, frost flowers are the result of ribbons or hairs of ice extruded through plant stems. It happens when the sap in the stem of certain flowers freezes; high water content causes the sap to expand and squish out through thin cracks in the stem. They're very delicate, and they'll break if touched. To catch sight of them, you must find them at dawn before the sun melts them away.

8. Frost is not bad for every harvest. Some wine growers love frost and snow. Some of the finest, most world-renown wines in Canada are harvested well after the first frost; ice wines require grapes which have spent two nights at -8 degrees Celsius. And those super strong dessert wines go for well upwards of $40 per 375-millilitre bottle. On the other hand, if you're a vintner not into ice wine, a good freeze before harvest will be disastrous.



9. Where did the snow go? Even if temperatures remain stable, snow does not. If it only snowed once but the temperature remained below freezing, the snow would disappear over time owing to a process called sublimation. Sublimation, essentially, is the phenomenon where a solid (the snow) changes to a gas (water vapour) without passing through a liquid state. For deeper explanation than that, you'll have to consult a chemist!

10. Pukak snow. You may have heard that First Nations languages include a great number of words for snow. One of those words is pukak, and it describes the layer of deep snow next to the ground. This layer, though it starts as an even mass, breaks down as heat rises from the earth inducing the snow to form into ice crystals, forming air pockets. Small rodents break through the walls of these air pockets and create a system of tunnels they use to get around.

**Note - When shovelling your walkways it is a good to pile snow onto the base of trees or your shrubs and perennials, keeping the roots covered. If a salt or ice melter has been used, push the piles away from trees and shrubs' dripline area as this could poison them when it is spring and the thaw is on.

10 Things About Dormancy

1. Why go to sleep? In dormancy, metabolism virtually comes to a standstill to conserve energy. Dormancy is triggered by environmental changes, such as decreasing temperatures, but living things are also affected by light. In plants, dormancy can also be triggered by drought and heat, such as when lawn grasses turn brown in midsummer.


2. Hibernation. Plants aren't the only living things to utilize dormancy. Animals hibernate, decreasing heart rates by as much as 95%. Hibernating animals prepare for this state by building up reserves of fat to provide them with the fuel needed to get through the winter. (Is that why many humans gain weight before Christmas?)

3 . Diapause. Certain animals, such as roe deer (native to Britain) and marsupials, and some insects enter a state called Diapause. For higher animals, this results in a delay in the attachment of the embryo to the uterine lining, ensuring offspring are born in spring. Insects that enter this state simply suspend their development and growth.

4. Aestivation is almost the same as hibernation, but has opposite causes. Aestivation results from exposure to very hot or very dry conditions. Garden slugs, snails and worms are subject to this type of dormancy.

5. Brumation is similar to hibernation but it happens with reptiles, which can go months without food. They can stay in brumation for as long as eight months. They will occasionally "awake" long enough to get a drink of water, but they do not eat in this state. Brumation can be triggered by cold and reduction of sunlight.

6. Viruses can also go dormant, remaining quiescent in the cells of the human body for long periods. An example of this would be the V aricella zoster virus which cause chickenpox, then sleeps for years until it awakens as shingles ( Herpes zoster). Bacteria can also go dormant.

7. How do they know? Some plants have a kind of biological clock to alert them about when to take a rest. Houseplants, for example, often stop growing when the days get shorter, even though the temperature never varies. You should stop watering as much now and avoid fertilizing.

8. Seeds can also go dormant. When a ripe seed is given all the right conditions but fails to germinate, it is considered dormant, not dead. A 1,300 year old lotus seed was germinated after recovery from a dry lakebed in Northern China. Do you still believe in the end of the world?

9. Deciduous trees and shrubs, as you know, also go dormant, losing their leaves and halting photosynthesis. But they do still need some water in the soil to survive, so be sure to water in late October or when the tree has lost all its leaves. These trees store food reserves of sugars n their roots. (Cold-hardy deciduous trees will not survive indoors in winter, so bonsai growers let them go dormant before storing them in a cool place for the season.)
10. Evergreen trees. Evergreens don't go completely dormant in winter by they slow right down, retaining some moisture in their needles which are protected from desiccation by a waxy coating. They continue to photosynthesise at a reduced rate (which is why their leaves look grey or black as the temperature drops). Help them out by keeping late winter sun glare from drying out their needles. Build a sunscreen (but don't let the burlap touch the needles because it acts like a wick, drawing water away from the tree). You can even simply rough up the snow in front of your evergreen on a south facing lot to deter the drying effects of the sun's reflection off the snow.

2010 Weather Prediction

So it is the beginning of the New Year and we sit and wonder what this year will bring in the line of weather. According to the Farmers Almanac, Quoting

Canada's Frigid Forecast: 2010 Winter Weather


After a late start to summer, and a soggy one in many areas, the new, hot of the presses, 2010 Canadian Farmers’ Almanac is here, and within its pages is a prediction for an “Ice Cold Sandwich” winter.



Last year, the 2009 Canadian Farmers’ Almanac predicted an exceptionally long, cold winter for most regions. As promised, bitter cold and heavy snow punished much of the nation, coming on early in the season and lingering through the start of spring. When spring finally did arrive, it came bearing heavy rains, with twice the annual average falling in many regions.

How Cold Will this Winter Be?

The latest edition of the Canadian Farmers’ Almanac warns that this winter’s frigid forecast offers no respite in sight, especially for provinces in the center of the country. “Colder than normal” and “bitterly cold and dry” is how the Canadian Farmers’ Almanac describes the winter in for provinces above the Great Lakes, the Plains, and the Canadian Rockies, while temperatures on the East and West Coasts will be more in line with average to normal winter conditions.



For residents of the East Coast, who bore most of the brunt of last winter’s fury, this may be good news, but the prediction of an “ice cold sandwich” is sure to send chills down the spines of those in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.



Snow Forecast

While parts of the country are expected to see near or below average precipitation this winter, significant snowfalls are forecast for parts of every zone. Residents of Eastern and Western coastal provinces can expect some a major snowfall in mid-February, with possible blizzard conditions in parts of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.Annual Weather Summary: November 2009 to October 2010


Winter temperatures will be 1 to 2 degrees C below normal, on average, with the coldest temperatures in early to mid-January and mid-February. Precipitation will be near normal in the east and below normal in the west, with above-normal snowfall in all but eastern Ontario. The snowiest periods will be in late November, mid-January, and mid- and late February.



April and May will be cooler than normal, with precipitation below normal in the east and near normal in the west.



Summer will be cooler and drier than normal, with hot weather in mid- to late June, mid-July, and early August.



September and October will be cooler than normal, with above-normal precipitation.



Temperature and Precipitation November 2009 to October 2010

 


Well this certainly does not look promising. Hopefully they will be wrong and we will get a beautiful not to rainy summer after a not so great looking winter.  As a reminder of what summer looks like.  Ah, a sea of green instead of white. 

Happy Gardening friends!


 

Icy Wonderland

Watch your step! I thought today I was going to write on what I got for Christmas and what I did not. But we woke this morning to a icy wonderland. Thank goodness not like the Ice Storm of 2008. As beautiful as it looked with all the trees and fences and.....coated with a thick layer of ice, I really do not want to see that again. I figured in the middle of the night that it was going to be a lovely picture taking day after hearing the ice hit the windows that woke me from my slumber. This morning the windows were coated also with a layer of ice. Unfortunately someone did not charge the batteries from Christmas so I could not get that pic.

Our beautiful shade tree in the summer was ghostly this morning.

This guy always gets hit hard and this morning we were leaning to the side.

Christmas cedar decor was hanging beautifully with a coating of glass like material.

The spirea I'm sure will look stunning tonight with the lights on. The glow will bounce off the ice.

The junipter also was prettily decorated, with what is left of it from the snow.

The great swing bearing pine tree was a stunning umbrela this morning.

Well that concludes my icy morning and hopefully the wind will not start up like last year after Christmas. I do like my lights but if we are destined to be without hydro so be it. Have a great Boxing Day!

Autumn Garden Stroll

Well today is the last day of autumn. So I thought I would take a quick stroll and look at the wonderful AUTUMN scenery.

But wait. Something is just not right!

Looks a little white to me. Are we sure it is still autumn?

Funny, but our Autumn's are pretty short here. Just a couple of months if we are lucky. None the less it is still pretty ( the blanket of snow ). I am new at winter gardening, but I sure hope I enjoy it as much as I enjoy gardening during the other seasons.I just love how this pic turned out. A small pile of snow on top of the globe thistle.

To think that this was beautiful sea of colors was really only weeks ago. The seasons sure do change fast.

I call this one the ty dye tree. Isn't it just lovely.

Thanks for dropping by and have a wonderful day!