... in my mind. To me, snow itself is winter interest--it's undeniably beautiful, on everything, at the right angle and in the right light. I was born and raised in Upstate NY. I've lived in MD for 15 years but I still lament the lack of snow cover. Without it, I think we snow-less gardeners have to work harder to design our gardens to be interesting while all is brown and grey.

Taquiyyah, it indeed has it's own beauty and sometimes, especially toward the end of winter, I don't appreciate it as much as I should. But even more important to me than it's beauty is the insulation value for the plants when we get the frigid winter cold, which you also have some idea about if you lived in Upstate NY!

For me, other than the initial beauty, snow's only other redeeming quality is the insulation factor. But even with the foot we have I know I am going to lose plenty with this wicked long super cold snap. I'll take the positive attitude and think about all the new stuff I'll have space for!

What a positive way to look at losing plants, Jennifer! If we have good snow cover, I don't usually lose to many perennials,(most of the ones I plant are zone 3 or 4), but I do lose a lot of smaller trees when it is -20 or lower if we have it for an extended cold spell, but I bet your plants are mostly higher zones than that so would probably be more vulnerable? But if you had the snow before the bitter cold you might be surprised at what will survive it.