The weed battle is only part of the problem with spring seeding. And there are products that suppress some seeds but allow desirable grass to grow (I think the product is either siduron or tupersan--one is the product name and the other the chemical). The other problem is that the grass doesn't have enough time to get well established before the heat of summer. Depending on where in MA you are, the summer heat may not be that bad. I seem to recall that some parts of MA stay fairly cool during the summer as a result of ocean breezes. Another option is dormant seeding, where you wait until it is too cold for the seed to germinate (but not when the ground is covered in snow) and put the seed down. The freeze/thaw cycles and the melting snow help with seed to soil contact and the seeds sprout as soon as it's warm enough. The freeze/thaw cycles may also help some seeds to germinate (I think the process is called stratification). Some people dormant seed in November, but others wait until February so they don't get germination followed by a freeze in case of a January thaw. You lose some to birds and insects and some to germination followed by a hard freeze, but the grass that germinates gets somewhat of a headstart on grass that is seeded in a "normal" spring seeding so it has a better chance of making it through the summer.

Ah the suburban nemisis strikes again! Sorry to hear that. As the previous post suggested rabbits will eat anything if they are hungry enough and similarly what they choose to eat depends on the time of year. The worst problems I have with bunnies is in the winter. They will strip the bark of anything to get a source of water which is why they do it. Poor devils are basically really thirsty. There is really nothing safe. Nurseries sell bunny resistent plants but these are not normally shrubs... that said they do not eat holly or juniper. My solution to this problem is putting up a temporary fence around them which I take down when the weather gets warmer.... or.... Usually this problem is really bad when the snow is really high.... why they do not eat the snow is a mystery... seriously. Anyway this is usually from Jan onwards and the answer to the problem lies in Christmas. Buy a real tree and after you are done with it, cut it up and put the branches around some of the more sensitive plants. This is enough to distract them and hopefully they'll go and chew something in the neighbors yard.

Mine flowered the first year but didn't set fruit until the second year's flowering. Maybe yours will do better......good luck. Harry

Looks like you are really building up blooms now. I'm seeing more scapes every day. Not sure whether things are going to be much earlier than they were last year though. Last year Stella's Ruffled Fingers bloomed on May 16, I saw scapes on it a few days ago, so I don't think it will be much early, especially with the cooler weather we are having the next few days. I think Fern Stone is going to be earlier than it was last year, but last year was its first bloom year. You have several there that I like. Wild Cherry Wine is such a pretty pink. Love Fighting Fire!