Squirrels are a pain, aren't they? Bulb roots should not have problem going through chicken wire. Muscaris are not planted as deep as Tulips. I don't think you'll have to worry about their roots going so deep anyway. I wonder about the necessity of lining the ditch with chicken wire, though. Unless you have moles or voles, placing chicken wire over the bulbs should be sufficient to prevent the tree rats from getting to your bulbs. That's what I do when I plant new bulbs in the garden. Another issue to consider is that with chicken wire under the bulbs, one day when you may want to dig up the bulbs, it will not be fun digging into the checken wire, will it? Early this spring, squirrel problem was so bad that even Colchicum shoots were bitten off. I sprinkled blood meal around the shoots. It seemed to deter both rabbits and squirrels.

I planted Liriope in my courtyard. Last summer it received afternoon sun for a while and about the top third of the leaves were bleached and burnt by the sun. I cut them down in the fall when they were back in full shade and they are doing fine. I'm hoping that the vines I planted them under will be large enough this summer to shade them.

I considered these, but thought they would like a little more moisture? I have some Ophiopogon planiscapus growing elsewhere, which I love, but it is so slow to spread. Is O. japonicus a little faster to fill in? (And will it take extreme drought conditions?) Or- how bad is the Liriope spicata? Thanks for the response!

If you go over to Racheff Gardens, you'll see how much this stuff can spread. I don't know what the effect, if any, of frequent mowing would be. I didn't check the Groundcovers Forum, but maybe they have something to say about this stuff. If you find answers, let us know.