Snow Tips for Garden/ Planting Areas: So what do you do when snow piles up on your plating/garden beds? If possible, shovel or blow snow evenly across garden beds and around your foundation plantings. Try to avoid heaping roadside snow onto your street side planting areas because the snow plow most likely pushed some road salt onto your garden beds. When snow accumulates on trees and shrubs, remove it with gentle upsweeping motions.
Ice Tips: When ice forms on your tree and shrub branches, don’t try to break the ice off. By doing this, you’ll risk breaking the branches. It’s best to let the ice melt naturally. Also, don’t swing and hit your branches, especially frozen branches because they are more likely to snap and break.
When you use ice melt on your sidewalks and driveway, read the label carefully. Sodium chloride- and calcium chloride-based products damage plants more than potassium-based choices.
Instead of using ice melt, use wood ashes, sand, or non-clumping kitty litter.