This past week was a total mixed bag of weather. Everything from 4″ inches of snow to pouring rain, and yesterday there was sunshine. I loved it.
Well, except the rain part.
I wish I would have paid more attention to all the snow on our bushes and trees though. Somehow I managed to rake all the snow off the front boxwood hedge but totally forgot about the leland cypress trees alongside the house and in the upper garden.
Luckily no tree branches broke, but still, the trees are all wonky now. I hope they bounce back because I’d really hate to have to replace them. Has this ever happened to you before? Do you think I should wrap something around them or just leave them be? Do you think the trees will be okay?
Pro Tip: Leave the dirty jobs for your husband. 😉
There were a ton of trees in the backyard of our last place and I never once had to clean up pine needles to make the yard look tidy. It took 4 truckloads to the yard waste facility to clear the side yard. Seriously. Remind me to never buy a house again that has trees planted so closely to the house.
Spring! It’s on it’s way. The tulips, daffodils, lilies of the valley and hyacinth are all popping through the soil and I couldn’t be happier. Word on the street is the temps will be in the upper 40’s to 50’s all this week. Yee-haw! It’s time to get out there and get some chores done.
Have a great week everyone,
~Mavis
Rita says
Are pine needles good to leave for mulch or are they too unsightly or another reason you pick them up?
Mavis Butterfield says
Well, in a normal yard, they are an excellent source of mulch. But here in high maintenance suburbia I would most likely get fined for leaving them on the ground. #Icantwaittomove
Elise says
Good luck with the trees! Unfortunately I have no experience with that situation. It does seem like tying them up a little couldn’t hurt, but I don’t really know :/
Loving this blog and wanted to give you some moral support {{ }}
Linda says
I think your trees will bounce back Mavis. In a normal winter, we get a fair amount of snow and the pines around us will look pretty strained but they eventually bounce back. .
Mrs C. says
Wrap them on the inside with biodegradable kitchen twine. That’s what I’ve had to do numerous times – I just pick a few of the worst splayed branches on a tree, pull them in, and on the INSIDE, I secure them with the twine. I don’t wrap the outside of the tree because I don’t want to damage it.
Mavis Butterfield says
Thank you!!
Lace Faerie says
Yep! Exactly! At my Mom’s house we would wrangle back up snow bent branches of her yew hedge. If you leave them splayed, they might stay that way and start growing up from there and really look untidy. I never top thuja or pyramidals with a flat top to avoid the worst of splaying.
Carole Parker says
Seven hours yesterday in the garden. Ibuprofen is the only thing that got me up this morning. I hurt all over. Obviously I need to be out there more. Got everything tilled up, herbs planted, lettuce is up, new soil ready to fill up my containers. I need some recovery time to get the next garden chores done. Thankfully we can leave our fallen leaves for mulch but we usually rake a bunch up for the compost bin. Yard work, it never ends!! I found your lemon tree blog incredibly helpful, I have a lemon tree in a pot, been there for over 15 years. Repotted several times. Will be keeping those instructions for sure.
Sue R. says
Yes, wrap the branches. We’ve done it before and just did it again here in Eugene, OR after an ice storm. I just used green twine right around the outside and pulled the branches up. The twine was not noticeable at all.
Bernadette says
I cannot tell you how much seeing my bulbs come up thrills me! My poor alpine snow drops got hammered last week (I’m in Tacoma), but they lived. Hurry up, Spring!
Mavis Butterfield says
I’m glad they survived. I was a little worried about ours too.
Carrie Council says
The Crocis and Daffodils are blooming in my yard in NC. It was a beautiful warm weekend so I took the dog for a 3 mile hike Saturday and Sunday. I wanted to work in the garden Sunday afternoon but I took a nap instead – I hate burning daylight but I couldn’t stay awake! It looks like this weekend will be pleasant so I hope to get out and clean up my beds. I still have lots of kale and spinach that survived the winter.