How to Incorporate Snow Storage in Your Landscape Design
When it comes to planning your dream landscape, it’s important not to forget the damage cold and dry winds, as well as the snow-laden winter season, is capable of causing on our landscapes. For instance, a sprinkler system can stop functioning as a result of prolonged cold temperatures. Similarly, plants may end up getting windburn whereas driveways and patios can sustain damages from corrosive products and plows. This is precisely why homeowners and/or property owners need to think about winterization in the design phase and protect their landscape against various kinds of damage from winter.
In this article, discover how you can incorporate snow storage in your landscape design to lower maintenance costs and maximize your landscape survivability and longevity.
Keep the Driveways Wide: One of the best ways to include snow storage in your outdoor design is to ensure that your driveways are kept wide. The rule of thumb is to designate one snow storage area for every 100 sqft. of land. This will allow you to clear the snow and better manage your landscape during the winter season.
Leave Sufficient Space to Put Snow Away: Make sure that your landscaping is set 20-30 ft. back off of the end of the drive so that you get sufficient space for pushing all the snow away. Alternatively, you can leave a space of around 4-5 ft along your driveway’s side for storing the snow.
Walkways should be Even: Flagstone and other surfaces that are uneven can cause you to trip. Besides, snow shovels may catch the sharp walkway edges, resulting in the destabilization of the stones. Plan on repairing your walkways well in advance to maintain them easily during the winter.
Considerations for Parking Lots: Your parking lot’s slope decides how well it is capable of handling all the gathered snow as well as its runoff. You should place the primary push zone right at the lot’s bottom. This will help you to direct the flows from the runoff away, minimizing any chances of getting injured as a result of the runoff that refreezes in the parking lot area. Also, make sure that the drainage system for runoff is effective as it can cause landscape erosion.
Don’t forget the landscape plants: Aside from snow removal, you must also pay heed to the landscaping plants. When designed with appropriate planning, you can reduce the amount of care required to maintain a healthy landscape. Tip: Minimize raking in the Fall. Yes, you heard me correct! Leaf mulch is an excellent choice of mulch to reduce watering and insulate plant roots. It holds the most water of any mulch available (up to twice as much as peat moss, depending on leaf variety), and the best part…..it’s generated on-site for free! You can also prevent winter burn by re-purposing a thick layer of leaf mulch around the base of Evergreens.
It is essential to understand that plants often get damaged because of popular commercial chemicals. For instance, the single most used de-icing solution in use today, sodium chloride-based (or Rock Salt), can cause permanent salt injury to plants, thus damaging the buds and the roots of the plant. This is one of the reasons why you should consider including salt-tolerant trees and shrubs in your landscape.
Click here to find a list of salt-tolerant trees and plants for New York.
Plan Ahead: It is essential to plan your landscaping and snow storage mechanism well in advance and preferably during the design phase. Choosing trees and shrubs that tolerate compaction and winter salt, creating adequate snow storage zones, and using sturdy hardscape materials will pay off for winters to come and leave you with the same beautiful landscape in the Spring.
