What a roller coaster ride this weather has been the past few weeks….69 degrees last week….. wake up to a few inches of snow yesterday and 5 degrees this morning! No one ever said gardening here in the North Country was a predictable journey. Those weather teases only serve to build character and patience in north country gardeners.
Last week during one of those 50 degree days, I visited my seasonal experiment of covering the boxwoods at the National Museum of Dance. The last few weeks weather patterns suggested it was time to remove my burlap covers and assess the outcome of my trial this winter. I wrote about this last fall. For several years I have struggled with the significant amount of winter kill these boxwoods experience each season. In the spring this leads to significant pruning and shearing in order to bring them back to their green symmetry. I was pleasantly surprised to find the burlap cover and zip tie practice applied late last fall did indeed reduce the leaf damage in the outer circle shrubs. There is a degree of discoloration, but when compared to the inner circle of shrubs surrounding the Athena statue, I chose not to cover for comparison, (the forefront shrubbery in the next photo) there is a noticeable difference.
