Calgary was about 10 degrees below its seasonal average on Monday, with snow falling west of the city as nearby as Canmore.
Sunshine Village and Lake Louise both saw a fresh blanket of white overnight, months ahead of the ski areas’ opening dates.
Calgary’s usual summer hot spots — splash parks, bike trails, et cetera — were missing the typical August traffic on Monday.
However, Plantation Garden Centre was still busy and stocking up on perennials despite the cold weather.
“For myself, I’m just trying to plant as much as I can,” said Shelley Cryer, who works at the garden centre. “I just brought a new order of perennials in and a new order of shrubs in. So this is an excellent time to plant. The temperatures are starting to get cooler.
“We’ve had such a hot summer that that has put a lot of stress on plants.”
Cryer suggested now is actually the best time of year to plant, since the temperatures are cooler and there’s generally more precipitation.
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She also suggested waiting until leaves have gone brown and fallen before starting to do any significant harvesting or pruning. That way the plant’s energy will have returned to its roots before you start taking off its limbs.