WARMINSTER, Pa., Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Near record snowfalls here and in
much of the United States might not be good for highway safety, but according
to one of the nation's leading horticultural experts, it is the perfect winter
fertilizer for home gardening.
George Ball, chairman of W. Atlee Burpee & Co., the nation's leading seed
provider, located here in Bucks county, says that, "all of this snow is a
fabulous thing for home gardening, and gardeners should expect nothing less
than a banner year in 2008 because of it - higher vegetable yields, vigorous
ornamental grass and flower growth and extended bloom periods for flowering
shrubs and perennials."
Mr. Ball, who is also past president of The American Horticultural
Society, says heavy snowfall acts as a geothermal blanket for the garden and
landscape plants.
"Call it the 'igloo effect,'" says Ball. "Only when wrapped in a heavy
blanket of snow and, even better, topped off with a thin duvet cover of ice,
do your precious perennial plants and low lying shrubs sleep the beauty sleep-
well protected from the forces of Old Man Winter."
The desiccating winds of winter, in combination with sub-freezing
temperatures, Ball explains, are what is actually lethal to garden plants, as
well as many herbaceous woodland plants.
While its no fun to travel during periods of inclement winter weather,
Ball says, "gardeners should rest assured that snow in the garden is actually
a very good thing."
Mr. Ball amplifies his views on the benefits of snow in the garden on his
periodic blog that appears on http://heronswoodvoice.com.
SOURCE W. Atlee Burpee & Co.
Kristin Grilli, +1-724-263-0363, kgrilli@burpee.com, for W. Atlee Burpee &
Co.
