A winter with deep snow can feel heavy in the moment. Walkways disappear. Beds vanish. The garden seems farther away than usual. It’s natural to wonder what all that cold and weight might mean for the season ahead.
But for soil, snow is rarely a hardship. In many ways, it is protection.
A thick layer of snow is mostly air — often more than ninety percent — which makes it one of nature’s best insulators. Beneath it, soil temperatures remain surprisingly steady. Instead of repeated freezing and thawing, which can heave roots out of the ground and stress perennial crowns, the soil rests in a more stable cold. This is gentler than a cold winter without snow.
Snow is also water, stored patiently. Unlike heavy spring rain, which often runs off before it can soak in, melting snow seeps slowly into the ground. That gradual saturation replenishes the soil and recharges moisture reserves long before the first warm days arrive. By the time spring begins, much of the season’s early water is already in place.
Even the snowfall itself contributes something small and useful. As snow forms and falls, it gathers tiny amounts of atmospheric nitrogen and sulfur. When it melts, those nutrients return to the soil in a diluted form — a faint early feeding delivered before growth has begun.
A snowy winter can also bring a subtle reset. Sustained cold and consistent snow cover can reduce some overwintering pests and fungal spores, leaving the garden with a slightly cleaner start than a mild winter might allow.
Taken together, a snowy season often leaves the garden better hydrated, more protected, and more evenly rested than one shaped by bare ground and fluctuating temperatures.
But the real gift of snow arrives later.
It arrives when it melts.
The Moment the Garden Reveals Itself
Snow does not disappear evenly. Some areas open first. Others linger. Some ground becomes workable weeks before the rest, while other areas remain wet and cold long after the air feels like spring.
Most years we don't take much notice of this and move on.
But this uneven melt is a useful map the garden offers us. It shows how the land actually behaves.
What Early Melt Really Means
The places where snow melts first are rarely random. They tend to be slightly warmer, better drained, more exposed to sun, and less compacted. These places dry and warm sooner, which means they become workable earlier and support steadier early growth once planting begins. For gardeners eager to get their hands back in the soil, these are the areas to start first.
What Late Melt Tells You
The last patches of snow linger for reasons, too. They often reveal low spots where moisture collects, heavier or more compacted soil, shaded areas that warm slowly, and places that remain wet longer into spring.
These are not bad areas. They are simply later ones. Knowing this ahead of time makes planning calmer.
A Small Winter Practice
Over the next few weeks, as storms pass and thaw begins, notice the order in which your garden reappears. Notice which paths emerge first, which corners stay white longest, where meltwater flows, and where it settles.
This is the garden offering a map of its own rhythms — a quiet guide to where the season will begin easily and where it will arrive more slowly.
It is a map we rarely think to use.
Why This Matters for Dahlias
Dahlias dislike cold, wet soil far more than cold air. Planting into ground that is slow to dry can delay growth or lead to rot, while soil that warms and drains earlier supports stronger early development and a steadier start to the season.
Snowmelt shows you where each of those conditions exists. It tells you where to begin.
In a winter that feels like pause, the garden offers direction. All we have to do is notice where the snow chooses to stay — and where it chooses to go.