THE FIRST BIG SNOW STORM

Last night our first big snow storm of the season blew in. We woke up this morning to a foot or more in the mountains, and a measurable amount on the valley floor, with more storms continuing through today and tomorrow and Monday. Although I like winter, I wasn't quite ready for it, although I finished 90% of winterizing tasks yesterday.  The upper garden, rock garden and rose beds still needed some winterizing, so I'm glad to hear that in a week we will be getting some drier weather so I can finish those tasks. Cutting down the hosta, lilies, mums (which are still flowering), and a few perennials that do well with trimming down still need to be done. I always just top the roses a bit, not really pruning them down, but any canes that are 5 or more feet tall need to be cut so the snow won't break them down during the winter months.The snow is a heavy, wet one, which has made many leaf-laden tree branches bend down, and there are reports of 3200 people in the area without power because of those heavy tree limbs on power lines. Rocky Mountain Power is suggesting people keep those limbs away from lower power lines because of this reason. They come around and trim tree branches of those trees with branches close to the dangerous live high power lines. They have come and told us they would be around to our home in about 2-3 weeks.  We surely appreciate this service that they provide. Preparations for winter include not only tree branch safety, but there are a lot of little things that make a big difference  in your yards and gardens.Some of the tasks that I completed yesterday in preparation of the storm included:

• Organizing and putting all the stakes, cages, and plant rings in the shed
• Cleaning out and stacking all the patio containers, then putting them in storage
• My husband put up the patio supports and moved and stacked all the patio furniture, covering them and securing them down
• Cleaning, then packing up and storing in the shed all the vases and containers used in the floral arrangements
• Mulching all the first year, or more tender perennials with extra soil, leaves or pine needles
• Pulling the rest of the dahlias tubers and glad corms, and putting them in the garage to dry out.  (My friend will take the dahlias tubers and store in a root cellar; I will store the gladiola corms in a mesh bag hanging in the shed)
• Cutting down the peonies, hosta and lily stalks (completed except in the upper garden)
• gathering in all hoses and organizing them in their storage space

When the snow starts to fly, it's nice to feel like I've done all I can to prepare the beds for their long winter's nap.  Good preparation in the winter helps to ensure a great garden in the spring.  

JUST A REMINDER:  To all those who are affected, tonight is the night we "FALL BACK" and turn our clocks back an hour--It will be good to get that hour of sleep we lost last spring!