Just moving it may cause it stress so try to take a large root ball that is part of the planting hole and put it where it can continue to do its thing. If not able to re-plant in the ground, then pot them up and re-plant at the earliest time. They must be allowed to send their starches back down into the bulb so it can re-appear next spring. Do any digging in the early morning, on a cloudy day or when rain is forecast and water the plant immediately after re-planting. In a pot, water the bulb to drainage, dump the excess and water as you would any other potted plant.

Thanks. I don't think I made it clear that all our south facing windows have metal awnings on them. Our dining room has 3 south facing windows, a door with a window in it, and an east facing window. All of them have horrid 50's metal awnings on them that obscure so much light. It's a parsonage and they're not going to remove them. I think I will take the plants with me on my trip. My parents have a sunroom, and right now my seedlings are in a couple of rubbermaid containers. They'll get enough light to be healthy and I can monitor their moisture. Thanks, Kate

At the town meeting for the zoning on the construction, I lobbied hard to require the developers to put in a fence. They will be constructing a fence when they get the major dozing done. The roofs of the new houses (only 1-story units) will basically be at the level of my yard, as they excavated out a 6 - 20' drop. At the meeting, I protested the retaining wall at the property edge, stating that it was a hazard to put in a cliff where none had been. (particularly since it is within 10' of my lower driveway and my son is learning how to drive; also my neighbor has a very busy 3 year old son). The developer initially sneered and said I could but in a fence if I was concerned about my children and BOY you should have seen all the heads snap up at the front table where the town council was seated. He back-pedaled quite fast and will be putting in a fence....they also had to sell me a pie-wedge of land to get the drop off moved further away from my drive. The previous use of the land was to farm tobacco. Here is where I am conflicted....they sprayed the heck out of that field and grew a crop I considered to be poison. I'm not sorry to see the tobacco go. Every time they sprayed my son and I had huge allergic reactions. I didn't want 86 homes to go in there, but it was actually zoned for 126 units!!! Also, single story and lower than my house is infinitely better than a condo high rise. I have no plans to move, I love my yard and it is very hard to find an open, rolling lot of this size (1.7 acres) in the mountains. Most of the available property now is like a bobsled run. After the fence is in place, my hubby and I are going to determine where we want to place some evergreen trees to enhance our views and block what we don't like. Here is a link that might be useful: my gardens

I use a heavy mulch of oak and maple leaves in the fall to winter in my herb bed. Then in the summer I use heaps of grass clippings for mulch. My tarragon is a bed eating monster that I have to keep cut back, my thyme plants are gaining ground. My rosemary and basil I grow in pots because rosemary can't quite hack the winter exposure, and basil dies right off. My mints, chocolate and pineapple, are in their own area, and don't require any mulch at all- they are extremely vigorous on their own.