Use it where it makes sense, this isn't hard to plan out and think ahead. For example, you could landscape this way all over Seattle or Portland, and in most of Hood River, OR as the wind is only consistently strong in small areas in the winter.

Also, no reason you can't plant or prune existing trees/shrubbery such that they don't become a blocker for snow, we do it all the time out in Eastern Oregon. A little forethought goes a long way.