Wow... Thanks so much everyone for your answers. Not sure my own follow up posted. Can't see it here... So forgive me if it repeats... not very familiar with using forums... :-) Yes, Flora, the first of May is very special in France and brings all kind of wonderful memories... Not the least of them just going to pick wild Muguet for Mom as a little girl... Or receiving it from your first admirers as a teen... :-) Nothing celebrates the coming of spring better than those white mini-bells' incomparable fragrance!.. Except maybe the return of the Barn Swallows... :-) So yes... I do miss them ... And I thank you for acknowledge it and telling me what to do... So... I'll plant them now... Should I chill them first in the frig? Will they flower this year if I do and bring some inside? How can I make sure they come up and flower next spring if I plant them outside now in a separate pot? I have a terrace on the 11th floor of a building in Manhattan exposed to the North East... So I get sun from sunrise until about 11AM to 1 or 2PM, depending on where on the terrace. Should I put them in the spot with the least sun time? Or in the shadow of other bigger plants? I don't really have a dappled shady spot... And it can get hot and windy up here on the terrace!... I was thinking to add them in my two self watering 30'x12' tubs at the foot of my Clematises and Rose Climbing bush where I just added a couple Peonies and Day Lilies bulbs. I usually add impatiens and other shade lovers annuals in spring, but I would like to have more perennials and less to plant in spring. As well as achieve the 'head in sun, feet in shade need' of the Clematis and Rose Bush. You can see the terrace on my Studio link. Not the tubs which would be in the back of the photographer on the NE wall. Would they take over there too and choke the others? Should I absolutely plant them in separate small pots? Wouldn't them freeze or dry too much in the winter? But maybe I can bring some inside in Jan-Feb to have them bloom early that way?... Thanks Vetivert8 for your extensive response... Wow again... All a way from New Zealand!... I loved NZ!... Even had a Maori roommate when I was studying in Paris... Do they have LOV in NZ?... Lived in Tahiti too... So Tiare is another incomparable fragrance that brings amazing fond memories!... :-) So I will not plant them with the Clematis and Roses. Anything I can plant with them in the pot to have some show in the summer and/or fall to hide the pot when they 'look awful' as I do not have room on the terrace or inside !... How about under my Hostas or Astilbes or at the foot of my Euonymus tree which is thinning at the bottom? Never had LOV in the US so I'm not sure what their exact look cycle is here... :-) And just to precise something... They would not flower this season even if I was placing them in the frig before planting like they suggest for forcing? That only works in winter, right?... I'm so eager to smell them!... LOL... So many questions, sorry... :-) Thanks again for your time and expertise... Veronique PS: oh ... Just one more... Does a link stash on a post? or is it not allowed? Thought I included it but its no longer there... Will try again...:-) www.ChelseaDaylightStudio.com Here is a link that might be useful: My NYC Terrace

well pretty much there isn't anything we can do to protect against what nature throws at us, fruit farmers here net whole orchards but hail puts paid to the netting, all we can realy do is replant afer the damage some will grow back. if it was regular wind only then you could plant some windbreaks to help control it. len Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

I've saved fruit many times from temps as low as 25/26/27 by going out in the very early morning hours between 4:00 AM and 6:00 AM and spraying them down with water. It does help. A couple of things -- 1) bring the hoses inside somewhere they can't freeze. Even a little water will leave an ice plug in the hose, which is frustrating and problematic at 4:00 in the morning. 2) Be sure to wear heavy, waterproof gloves with insulated gloves inside. Your hands will get cold fast, especially when wet. 3) Always get dressed. Don't go out in your pajamas and an overcoat like I did, then hide behind the compost pile for 20 minutes while the cops shine your yard looking for burglars because some neighbor called the police about the strange goings-on in your yard at 4:00 in the morning! :=)

My bed is 60% red cedar mulch (not nuggets) and about 40% maple leaf (leaf section is deeper than the mulch). I ran out of mulch a little over half way of covering this bed, so I had to finish with the leaves. The first thing I am gonna do starting tomorrow is pull off equal sections of mulch and leaf at the same time and mix it all up really well on my very large tarp and put back down, so in the end it will be a mixer of mulch and leaves. I won't be planting anything out until this is done. The back filling with potting soil is a great idea, but I don't have much left and I'm very low on funds. Maybe I'll see if I can wait? It may take me longer than anticipated to mix up the bed covering anyway. Melissa1977