What plants will be alive after all this snow melts?

Not a berry eater either, I don't like the seeds. In my mind it is just like eating sand, but I love to pick them and grow them for others. DH amd Mom are over the moon about raspberries and BB. We have cleared a new spot and I am hoping to plant more High Bush ones. I think we will finally plant some raspberries too. I would love some advice to keep them in bounds and looking good? Types? Patti

We dig out the many excess raspberries (both red and golden) that invade the vegetable garden every year without fail.

I have tried to grow the thornless blackberries, but just too cold for them here......I do have some raspberries, mostly the wild black ones....yum! Love all kinds of berries, & wish I had the ambition to grow them...of course, my BBs come from son's farm.....

I raked blueberries in Maine for school clothes money growing up...I still won't eat them!

we've got the wild raspberries that grow along our fence. I hate them with their wicked thorns...always afraid my dog will walk into one and scratch his eye. I pull them out, but they come right back. My husband doesn't want me to pull them because he likes to pretend that he'll actually go out and eat some of the berries. I told him I'd buy him some at the market.

Wonders of wonder - I found a swiss chard plant trying to put up a new leaf. Go plant go! Dug up a big mess of sunchokes to make a gratin. Wish me luck - I only kind of have the right ingredients.

Always wondered if Swiss Chard preferred 'neutral' soil.

I took a stroll outside today to check things out....I only have visible ground in the corner of one bed and along the foundation. Saw some broken hydrangea stems and a whole lot of broken ceramic and terracotta pots that I left outside- bad me! I still have snow up to my knees in places. It's gonna such a mess if it all melts quickly.

I'm planting Swiss chard this spring, Victor, I'll let you know! Sorry about the mess Noreaster.....I think all of us are going to be cleaning up more than usual.....

That was a joke, of course!

I got it....usually I don't, but I did this time!

Hee hee!

Robin, the thornless Chester blackberries do well here. They got seriously crushed but are bouncing back nicely. I will not grow raspberries because they are hollow, lol. And they spread like crazy.
The strawberry patch is totally flat. I through a few inches of leaves over it in the fall. 75 inches of snow squished everything way down.
Hey, the last bit of snow in the back yard melted today as I cleaned up winter debris.
I pruned the apple tree Friday, what a job. And dealt with the nectarine tree.
Andy P

Ugh, my little Japanese Maple out in front suffered the same kind of damage as venu209's Atrolineare. :( I think it's a goner for sure. Is there anything I should be doing in winter to protect the J.Maples? I have a couple that I really don't want to lose. I'm blaming this one's demise on my husband because I think he aimed the snowblower chute right at it.

Andy, I'll give Chester a try if I can find it......sorry about your tree, & your, too, Noreaster. I'm worried about my crape myrtle......

You can always make some kind of protection for it if it's not too big. Cut open a plastic garbage pail, etc.

It's too big for that, Victor. The one that broke probably was three feet across. But why would you cut the garbage pail open, anyway? You mean the top? Wouldn't the snow still get in there and then the weight still break the branches?

Hope your crape myrtle fared better, Robin. We lost a lot of snow last night.

Not the whole top! Just some holes for water.

ah, ok. Well I guess I'm going to have to rig something up for the other ones next year because they are more valuable to me than the one out front. I *think* they made it ok.

Don't let hubby throw snow there. That's way more dense than natural snow.

Easier said than done, Victor! There is a little cypress next to the maple that I'm worried about now, too. If that is damaged I will not be a happy camper.

i try not to plant jm's where the snow blower throws the snow. you could always wrap the tree with gardening string for the winter take it off in the spring. i do that with some evergreens that tend to flop with heavy snow.

That's hard with lateral branching.

you do need to be careful - gives the tree some added strength to fend off the madman with the snow blower.

Easier to just tie the snowblower up.

I stuck a milk crate over my new blueberry - maybe you could build pvc pipe frames with canvass for the JMs.

Robin, I got the Chester thornless from Millernurseries.com.
Warning, they get huge with canes reaching 12+ feet. They tend to grow horizontally as much as vertically benefiting from staking when fruiting.
They don't spread by root too much but watch the cane tips in the fall. They set root quickly.
Andy P

Thanks, Andy....I have a fence by the compost pile that would be perfect for them!

The just discovered after melt list.
Kilan Donehue clem
Bijou clem
Purple seedum
Monks hood
Tons of narcissus and tulips

I feel sick. Just found a vole hole right between two of my more mature hosta- Queen of the Seas and Tokudama Flavocircinalis. Tokudama F is one of my favorites in the garden. I moved most of my less established hosta into pots or cages last summer when I noticed my vole problem and lost a bunch of hosta and dicentra to them. The ones I couldn't dig up, I tried to surround with gravel mulch and moats as best I could. Well, they dug right through the gravel. I will absolutely cry if they ate either of those hosta. God, I hate voles with a passion.

Ahhhhhmen. I can look out my window and see the depressions in the snow where they have been ,all lead to my lilies.
Deer moce are also problem.We have them in the house this year.

Sorry, nor.

very sorry nor! in one area i have planted hosta in containers in the beds for the same reason.

So far, nothing has touched my hostas! I do have chipmunks, but never see voles.....

Yeah, I moved almost all of mine into buried containers...but a handful are too established to do that to, like Tokudama F. Anything that gets planted from here on gets a container, or a wire cage.

Robin, I have only ever glimpsed a vole one time, and it was very fast! They are experts at staying out of site. Last summer I started seeing some dying hosta and I thought they were going prematurely dormant, but when I tugged on one, it came up without any roots. Then I started noticing all the small holes and tunnels everywhere. In order to stay out of site, they often burrow under the mulch. So wood mulch is a no go for me anymore, too. I lost quite a few plants, but luckily not my favorite ones. Last year was the first year I became aware of voles.

I have plenty of chipmunks, but I don't think they eat the hosta roots the way voles do. Voles are despicable and I'm really limited as to what I can do about them because of my dog.

i feel for you noreaster - last year was my worst year too - i got one with a container last year as it tried to escape - while i was giving a tour of the yard - just slammed the little bastard and kept on going :)

I saw some broken branches today - small JM and a my laurel. Still have not done a thorough check.

looking forward to the snow melt here and seeing all the bulbs planted last fall come up!

sorry about the little jm victor - too early for me to look yet.

Thanks. Was hit ny the nandina above as it leaned down under the snow weight.

Anybody wanting to remove Voles should hire my dog Sarah. She's in Nirvana when hunting little critters.
My last dog ignored voles, this one gets any varmint in the yard.
Andy P