Nothing is so quintessentially winter in Minnesota as snow on pines. Sharon Quale’s garden, just on the outskirts of Eagle Bend, is a series of picture perfect postcards, especially in winter when a dusting of white punches up the contrast on her collection of conifers. Sharon’s collection has 80 specimens representing roughly 35 members of the conifer family.   Situated on 10 acres overlooking a rolling pasture dotted with angus and holsteins, Sharon’s home and garden is an

Coniferous forests grow in areas with low winter temperatures and high snowfalls, like Minnesota.  That being the case, they need a way to shed snow and hold on to water. Conifers are conical.  They have a single leader and their branches are spaced out in horizontal tiers.  As the upper branches droop down with a snow load, they touch the tier below.  Each subsequent tier supports the one above it, preventing the full load from breaking off branches.  The tree assumes an umb