Why snow is an excellent mulch in the garden

We normally think of mulch as some shredded bark-like material (not red, I trust!) that is thrown loosely on the garden's surface. Other mulches include shredded leaves, chipped bark, straw, pea gravel and compost.

Benefits include:

• suppressing weeds from germinating, reducing our weeding efforts
• keeping the soil temperature relatively stable
• reducing transpiration and, thus, watering
• finishing off the garden's appearance (aesthetics)

But there's a type of mulch which is equally important to have in the Toronto area that boosts your plants' chances of surviving brutally cold winds and is free! Snow!

A thick and persistent layer of snow insulates the frozen soil and keeps it frozen. A cycle of freeze and thaw can kill many marginally-hardy plants in our area as the crowns (tops) of perennials are exposed and often plants are heaved out several inches. I've lost coral bells (Huechera) due to this process!

We haven't had a significant amount of snow in Toronto yet which is a driver's dream but a gardener's curse. A good foot of the white stuff will let me sleep better (but my back will undoubtedly complain after tackling the driveway!)




By Paul Jung, author of "garden muses: a Toronto gardening blog"