The snow is melting from the land - or soon will be - and slowly the garden is easing back to life. The receding white is uncovering many side effects, such as crumpled iris leaves, bulbs with bed-head, or grasses with cowlicks. But the moisture is great, trickling into soil that did not freeze under the insulating snow. Water at this time for tree and shrub roots will keep them healthy in mid-summer when the heat takes its toll.

Now that we can get to our plants without the use of dogsleds, après-snow care of the garden is a must to prevent disease and larger garden problems. Sharpen your tools, because this means pruning.

• Prune off broken or cracked branches in shrubs and trees. Where the bark is shredded from the tear, surgically remove the dangling bits with a very sharp knife. Woody plants will seal the wound so there is no need to apply paint or other sealants.

Branches larger than two inches in diameter should be removed in sections or they will be too heavy and cause a safety hazard, or more tearing of the bark. Branches larger than four inches in diameter should be removed by an arborist.

• Check juniper shrubs soon after the snow melts for signs of cracked and broken branches. Right now, many look as if elk have wallowed on them, so prune off those broken branches to prevent disease. With junipers, pruning takes a little thought and art to regain form. If possible, snip branches to just in front of a growing side shoot. Pruning them back to the trunk or needle-less wood will leave a hole, since junipers don't regenerate on old wood.

• Deer have been an awesome sight in Denver this winter foraging for food. Unfortunately, Bambi brought all of his woodland friends to the feast, and voles, rabbits and squirrels have been stripping branches of bark and bud.

Many gardeners will see trees or shrubs not leafing out normally this spring. Where branches have been stripped completely around, the limb is dead and should be pruned off. Sadly, this is true if the trunk has been girdled and the plant should be removed.

• Broken rose canes should be lightly pruned back to just past the damage. Winter is not done with us yet and freezing temperatures may still kill back canes previously blanketed by insulating snow. Leave as much of the rose as possible now, saving the final pruning for spring, when the canes green up.

• We might see pink snow mold (Microdochium nivale) in the Front Range. Once the ground is soggy and soft, alternating weather of thaw and snow cover (or frost) aggravates this disease if it was present before the big snows. Most turf grass is susceptible, particularly those with heavy thatch.

Pink snow mold appears as water-soaked spots, rapidly growing to a foot or more in diameter. With the pinkish border of fungal growth along the outside edge, this disease leaves lawns with a festive tie-dyed look that may be popular in certain metro cities. The spots often have a frog-eye center of green, turning reddish brown to tan.

The disease will subside once turf dries out under warm sunny weather. Lightly raking the spot to lift grass blades for faster drying helps, but don't rake into healthy grass, since this disease is easily spread by contaminated tools. Overseeding affected spots will speed recovery of the area.

Carol O'Meara, a local gardening expert, may be reached at omearacarol@comcast.net