Covering the shrubs
December 30th, 2006
Last weekend, the former owner of our house stopped by to let us know about a burglar alarm we had installed in the house. We were completely unaware of it, and he let us in on a few other tips as long as he was here.
One of the tips was that the plywood beneath our shed was for covering the shrubs in the front of the house to protect them from snow falling off of the roof. This morning, it began snowing pretty heavy with no quick end in sight. After I got done running, I did a quick shovel of the driveway and got the plywood out. Thankfully, I was still wearing my stabilicers, since carrying the plywood up the small hill covered in snow was a little tricky even with spikes coming out the bottom of my feet.
The plywood was actually hinged together from two sheets and in various sizes, so that it was easy to create a tent of sorts over each shrub and bush. A fairly efficient design, and with different sizes it was easy to figure out which bush to put each one over. A couple of them I think have grown a bit wild since I didn’t trim them at all this year, so next year I will have to try taking better care of them.
I have a few lawn care items that I want to address in the spring, so that will just have to go on the list.
December 30th, 2006 at 5:24 pm
I grew up in the Great White North and have never heard of covering your shrubs like this. Rosebushes, yes (to prevent a killing freeze). But shrubs in general? No.
What’s the point?
December 30th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
I assume to keep them from getting crushed and broken up from falling snow and ice; he told me that the plywood was there and what it was for, so I assumed that he was talking from experience.
December 30th, 2006 at 11:03 pm
I guess maybe they’re close up to the house and could get hit by sheets of ice/snow sliding off the roof?
December 31st, 2006 at 11:10 am
Yes, they are right next to the house. There’s about a foot between the plants and the house, and the roof is right above them.
January 10th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Well, you can never be to careful. I prefer to err on the side of caution when it comes to my plants. I work at a place that sells seeds and perennials and I gets tons of advice from different sources. I feel that anything that won’t hurt can only help…maybe that’s a little superstitious.
March 2nd, 2007 at 7:55 pm
[…] I am just glad that I put the plywood over all of the shrubs that are right in the line of fire. […]