Why I Oughta...

Posting this photo in the garden diary as 'something to watch' come Spring:  the boxwoods that we have planted out front are currently weighed down by some heavy snow.  I've cleaned them off in other years and one of them suffered some die back in an early year we were living here, but this year, I'm just going to leave them be.  I'll let this snow melt off and then we'll see if there is any serious splaying that occurred and any long-term damage to the shrub.   These Boxwoods have NOT thrived, but I'm fairly confident that their lack of really taking off is related to the Norway Maple that I took down last Fall.  With less shade and the root system not having to compete with the mat of Maple roots, I'm hoping they will hit the gas pedal this season.  This area is VERY MUCH my #1 priority for the year , so the outcome of these boxwoods will factor into what I decide to plant here and/or move around.  

This year's snow totals were pretty high - in particular the month of February.  I posted a photo showing the big pile in between our driveways and mentioned how many thing had gotten buried under the snow.  In most cases, I figured that being buried was going to be fine.  But, there are some instances when the splaying from the weight of snow caused some concern.  In particular, the Gold Cone Junipers - which have a history of splaying - and the boxwoods.   For the Gold Cone Junipers, once the snow melts, I'll get out there and see what the state of them is after the long, hard winter.  I un-wired them , so I'm concerned about the snow.  Here's a look at the boxwoods just about a year ago showing that they had seen some winter burn , but no branching issues.  And, in particular, the boxwood closest to the front walk had a pretty large gap starting to show up that I'm concerned will only get worse with Winter splaying.   As for ...