How Martha Protects Her Beloved Boxwoods Every Winter

As cold winter weather settles in across the East Coast, Martha has been preparing her Bedford farm for the harsh conditions. That includes protecting the many boxwood shrubs and hedges that line her property.

"I've been covering my boxwood specimens with burlap since I first started to garden. Burlap covers protect the tender branches from splaying and breaking from the weight of snow, while shielding the foliage from freezing windburn. I think it also provides a cozy and pretty look to the winter landscape," she explains in a blog post.

Her outdoor grounds crew recently covered her entire boxwood allée—the dramatic pathway on her farm that leads to the stable and is lined with carefully pruned boxwood shrubs—using burlap.

Earlier in the week, the framing for the burlap covers was constructed from metal pipes typically used for building hoop houses. The frame is designed to be at least a foot taller than most of the boxwoods to prevent heavy snow from weighing down the foliage.

It takes a couple of crew members to drape the burlap over the frame's peaks, Martha says. The burlap covers are reused whenever possible. When the burlap is removed in the spring, it's rolled up, labeled, and stored in the dry stable barn. "Depending on the quality of the burlap, these covers can last through two seasons, sometimes three," she says.

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Six-inch-long wooden stakes are used to secure the burlap cover to the ground. Any openings are sewn shut with five- or eight-inch-long craft needles made for working with jute twine.

Martha explains that, unlike plastic, burlap "allows the boxwood to 'breathe' and get sunlight, which is important even during the colder months." She adds that this method is "really the most reliable way to protect my hedges and shrubs. Covering this allée with burlap gives me comfort that all will survive the winter unscathed."