Sorry to hear about all your troubles, but glad it sounds like things are back on track. I would put them in the garage before any hard frosts begin. The lilies should be going into dormancy then and will wait out the winter. Find the warmest spot, group the pots together and maybe cover with an old blanket? They shouldn't need any water and having them a little on the dry side might actually help. Hopefully they can handle the lows in the garage. I thing the basement will be too warm and they'll start growing earlier than you want. I'd like to hear what other people suggest, I sometimes have trouble overwintering bulbs in pots. You might want to get a roll of landscape fabric to line your baskets. The fabric kind, not the plastic. It will last longer than the paper.

Thanks to all who replied to my question. I read both the WS FAQs and SS thread. I honestly never thought I had to cover anything I planted outside when the weather was nice - just let Mother Nature do her job. Now, I'll put the stuff I had inside, outside with a cover. I especially liked the FAQ "Poster Suggestions for Flats from Recycleables" and also, the suggestions posted to this thread regarding containers. I needed to know what to start saving now in order to WS as economically and environmentally as possible. What wonderfully invented ideas people had. I had asked about coffee cans a few months back but did not get a resounding "Good Idea" so I guess I'll put those in the cycle bin and stick to the more widely used plastics that light can get through. Great to hear from my New England and Canadian neighbors - we can all commiserate together about all this rain (what was THAT last night?). Also, thanks to all for the "Welcomes" to the forum. I appreciate your time and thoughtfullness in helping me out. I'm sure I'll you'll be hearing from me again with more stupid questions! Zahzeen

These are Blues that have decided to overwinter. They will flock together in the winter, and the second they decide it's time to start nesting, they will chase each other away. Since you have a nest box ready for them, only a single pair will (hopefully) stay. The others will disperse to find their own nesting spots. I have had flocks of 10 in winter, but this year I'm only getting up to 4 coming for mealworms and suet. Sometimes more will show up if the weather gets really bad though. If the weather gets really cold, supplying them with water is really important. I keep a heated bird bath on my deck. I'm north of you in MA.

Thanks for the reminder Ray. While we never let our cat outdoors, a lot of the neighbors do. I have a good sized (8") wobbling stovepipe guard and have never had a cat, raccoon, or snake get into one of my boxes. The conduit pipe and good guard are extremely important.