I measured 38 inches of snow blanketing my gardens yesterday. In the 27 years I have been in my home here in upstate NY, I don’t ever recall this amount of snowing falling at once! Yes, accumulations over several storms…but never this much in one sitting. Another rather unwelcome experience in this year of life lived upside down. My poor Garden Pup Tucker took his early morning dive out the back steps for his morning constitutional…only to bury himself up to his neck…turn around and jump back on the deck. He looked at me with eyes that said…what the heck?! Looking out my office window as the sun rose today, I saw the bluejays struggling to get to my bird feeder. I quickly went out and brushed the snow away to let them get to the seed. Heavy snow cover is not always welcome.
Garden Chaos
Over the past few weeks our temperatures have run wild, 50 one day 20s at night. Wind blustering across my garden beds. My perennials did not know whether to sprout their greens or start their winter nap. Walking around I say my iris blades growing and daylily emerging as they do in early spring. This “confusion/chaos” in my garden seemed to imitate life as we currently know it.
The Gift of Snow
Then came the nor’easter, blanketing my gardens with more than 3 foot of snow, a winter gift to my garden. The quiet and stillness after the storm was soothing. The sun came out and things began to look better. The snow gave my gardens the signal…start your winter’s nap. They now received the nice heavy blanket of protection from wind and severe cold. The weight of that heavy snow will help my organic mulch to slowly decompose and begin to feed my plants during the early thaw. The moisture of the snow will give my gardens life saving water to survive if our spring is a dry one. This snow gives my gardens what they need to show off their beauty giving me much joy and respite during the late spring, summer and fall. 
Our Next Garden Season in Life?
Was yesterday’s snowstorm gift a metaphor for life as we currently know it? I like to think it is. A major storm can give us gifts of knowledge, strength and powerful growth as we await the next garden season in our lives.
Wishing you Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a New Year full of positive growth and joy!
The Garden Goddess
