Last year we bought two containter Thuja Smaragd mid-summer and a boxwood and enjoyed them on our balcony in pots with soil and when autumn/winter rolled around we proceeded to protect them from the cold and wind and snow in ways we had read about here and elsewhere.
We've just unwrapped them a few days ago and the boxwood looks in pretty bad shape as do the thujas but I have to be honest, we're novices at balcony gardening and we're not truly sure what we're looking at in terms of condition. We only did one thing after unwrapping which is that two days ago we did a full rinse of the soil until it was drenched and then allowed to run dry.

Do you think it would be possible to look at these photos and gently tell us how hopeless we are with plants or perhaps there is some mercy in the world and we've actually not ruined things too terribly?
Thank you!

Did you water them over winter? Plants need to stay hydrated in winter to survive the cold.

#1 looks dead - scratch the bark of the trunk with something sharp. If there's green just below the surface, its alive.
#2 will be fine
#3 will be fine

Lucy68 said: Did you water them over winter? Plants need to stay hydrated in winter to survive the cold.

Yes, we definitely did.

What kind of protection did you givd them?

Lucy68 said: What kind of protection did you givd them?

We had their pots placed in large plastic container buckets and we filled that all up with straw leaving enough space for watering through the winter. We had no kind of jute or hemp fabric so we loosely tied a plastic bag around them with holes for not causing suffocation and excessive moisture buildup. The bag was only tied near the bottom stem of the plants by the soil.

Lucy68 said: Did you water them over winter? Plants need to stay hydrated in winter to survive the cold.

#1 looks dead - scratch the bark of the trunk with something sharp. If there's green just below the surface, its alive.
#2 will be fine
#3 will be fine

#1 I think is pretty much dead. I saw nothing when I scratched back the bark. 2 and 3 look ok though.
Anything I can do to help them get back to looking more normal? Less dry?

Just be patient. You will have to wait until the cold damaged leaves are grown over. It may take all summer.

Lucy68 said: Just be patient. You will have to wait until the cold damaged leaves are grown over. It may take all summer.

Thank you so much for your help!

You're welcome