How to Plow Snow in Landscaping

Place marking flags in the snow to mark the sides of the driveway, flower bed edging or other landscaping features along the driveway. This step is not required, but it takes the guesswork out of plowing and is especially helpful in deep snow.

Install plow shoes on the bottom of the snow plow if the driveway is gravel. Plow shoes usually lock onto the bottom with a pin. They elevate the blade slightly so you don't scrape up the gravel as you plow the snow.

Adjust the plow so the blade faces straight ahead. Pull up so the blade is directly in front of your garage, the side of the house, or any similar structures at the top of the driveway. Lower the blade down to the ground and back up the truck or tractor to back-drag the snow away from the building. Clear a space roughly twice the length of the truck or tractor with this method. Raise the blade after clearing the space.

Turn the vehicle around, positioned in the space you cleared next to the garage or house. The plow should face toward the end of the driveway, and the vehicle should be on the opposite side from the side you wish to push the snow. Turn the blade so it faces to the left or right, depending on where you wish to push the snow. If you have a retaining wall on the right side of your driveway, but bare grass on the left side, position the vehicle on the right side of the driveway and turn the blade to the left.

Accelerate the vehicle forward and lower the plow before you reach the end of the cleared space. Push the snow to the end of the driveway. Turn the vehicle and blow just before you reach the end of the driveway so you push the snow into your yard. In many areas, it's illegal to push snow into a municipal street, but it's still an unfriendly practice even if it's not illegal.

Push the accumulated snow in the yard further back into the yard to make room to pile up more snow. As the snow builds up, lift the blade as you accelerate forward to build the snow up into a taller pile instead of constantly pushing the heavy snow forward in a single layer. This step might not be necessary for a small amount of snow, but is especially important if you expect more snowfall before the accumulated snow pile has time to melt. Install plow shoes on the blade to protect your grass if you didn't previously install them.

Back up the truck to the cleared space at the top of the driveway. Reposition the truck directly beside the cleared space from your first pass down the driveway. If you started on the right side of the driveway, reposition the vehicle to the left, with the blade slightly overlapping the edge of the cleared line. Repeat this process until the snow is cleared all the way across the driveway.

Pull the vehicle out onto the street and drive in to the driveway to clear any snow between the street and the point where you turned to move the snow into the yard while moving in the opposite direction. As you reach the entry point for the pile of snow in the yard, turn the vehicle and plow to push this bit of snow onto the larger pile.

Return to the street and clear a space as large as possible along the right side of your driveway. Push this snow into your driveway and into the pile in the yard rather than piling it up in the street. While this is optional, the clear space provides an area for accumulated snow on the highway road plows to dump beside the driveway. Without this step, the snow will push off the plow in the empty space at the bottom of the driveway, blocking in the driveway after you've already cleared it.