
Shoveling in single-digit temperatures after the colossal winter storm this weekend, I dumped mounds of snow onto my garden beds, knowing it would protect my trees, shrubs and dormant perennials.
When the ground repeatedly freezes and thaws, as it does over winter in cold climates, that can squeeze roots, seeds, bulbs, tubers and rhizomes right out of the earth. Once exposed, they can be killed off by cold, drying winds.