Pic 1 and 2 eat them, greens and all! They should have been left it the ground until the tops died back to use as sets later. But will be tasty in a bowl of beans! Pic 3 looks like a top setting onion, like Egyptian walking onions. Save them for sets. I don't know about zone 5, but here in zone 7 we plant them in fall and harvest in the spring. I don't think they will over winter if the ground freezes. Plant the sets in spring, as soon as the ground thaws and the soil is workable. Light freezes will not hurt them. Maybe someone from the land of cold winters will chime in soon!

Fire ants make mounds and not holes. The mounds start out small and become larger as the colony population increases. These mounds look rather innocent until you disturb them, and ALL of the ants boil out of the mound all at once. Again, there is never a discernible hole. I never worry about ants in my yard and garden, other than fire ants. Fire ants can be a problem for humans, pets, bird nests, beneficial insect eggs and larvae, and such.

Although on the small size, the corms themselves don't look bad. Perfectly unblemished bulbs of any type are not all that common - a few dings and dents are to be expected and the mold is not an issue if the bulbs are firm and with no soft or squishy spots. Viral symptoms do not tend to show up on the bulbs themselves so it would be hard to determine at this stage if that would be an issue. Thrips can be a problem with regards to persisting on corms during storage unless treated but one would hope that if purchasing from a reputable vendor, any treatment necessary would have been provided. If you have concerns, dip the corms in very hot - but not boiling - water for about 2 minutes. Drain and dry. Then dust with sulfur before planting. The hot water bath should negate any thrip issues and the sulfur can help with any fungal or viral concerns. For a longer season of bloom with your new glads, consider succession planting, or split the corms into several groups and plant a group every two weeks from now to mid June.

I can appreciate what you were trying to accomplish with this. :-) Part of the problem -- at least for me -- is that the bricks aren't stacked in a natural/logical orientation. If they were laid horizontally, so that they gave the appearance of being structural, I think my brain would have an easier time understanding the column (it would appear solid and less like a veneer). The corners/edges would also have been easier to integrate.