Yes. Despite rain and days of pleasant weather, the record snowfall of this year is still around in piles in shady spots. One large (6') English boxwood is split and broken. I'm going to take it down (what's left to be taken down) to about 2' and let it grow back. There is significant breakage on azaleas, rhodies, and the smaller crape myrtles. The real puzzle is what to do about the Japanese umbrella pine, since it is quite a mess and doesn't tend to grow back and fill in. We need to decide whether to pretend it has "character" in its current state or to replace it -- with another Japanese umbrella pine.

Yep Menards is where I went. We had a lot of snow and they did not shovel. All my favorite promix was hidden behind 2-3 feet of snow... lol Now that we are melting I am going to go out there and get some snow or not! My menards had all the dirt/soil outside in an area where the snow blew in all over. I plan to check it out tonight or tomorrow to get some of the awesome promix! I loved it last year. Karen

I looked up a 30 year lows weather report on WA and I used to set them out under tunnels April 15 but the temp difference with April 1 was only 2-3 degrees, from around 32 to 29 F, so I have set them out as early as April 1. They have survived even with snow and frosts. I used to only put out cold-tolerant or early varieties but have experimented with long season varieties and it gives them enough of an early start to make it possible to grow them and get more ripe fruit. As for the 55* F, it hardly makes it above that all summer here. Without the tunnels you would have to wait until June, May is possible but is too cold to get much growth. Tunnels are also great for cucumbers and squash, they develope so much faster. The only problems I have had is that the tunnel dries out the soil underneath so I have to water even if it is raining, and I have forgotten to check often enough and keep them watered. This feature is great for our rainy springs as I use the tunnels to dry out the soil in beds so I can plant on a dry day even in rainy weather with storm after storm. So far this season I have 30-40 plants outside. I have to wait for them to reach the lights indoors so the fastest varieties to grow get set out first. And slugs like the plastic so I use snail bait around plants when I set them out. I have cut some tunnels and they still work, but the part between ribs hangs down to close off the end of the tunnel so you lose a little length. My first set that is still in use I worried about plants getting too hot so I cut vertical slits in the sides but my newer ones I just push the sides up on the ribs or remove them if there is a heat wave. I put them away during summer so they get less UV damage and they have lasted really well, way past my expectations. It's also possible to make your own tunnels using arcs of wire or pvc pipe and using clips to hold plastic sheeting on them. I think I've seen supplies in the Johnny's and Territorial catalogs.

Jeatonne you're so nice to start a thread ;-) I wish you all the luck with your seeds...you will have a fabulous garden. I did start winter sowing a couple of days ago as we have finally seen our last warm days....winter is truly now here. We've had several good hard frosts and it "feels" like winter, and as I was rarin' to go I did some perennial flats. It was nice to get started again. I did "A" perennials and posted them over on the GFS forum, I will be doing my winter sowing alphabetically this year, literally going front to back in my seed boxes, and I'll post the update to the list as I go along. Next up is "B" and it's going to be river birch, boltonia, buddleia, and balloon flowers. You may notice I'm consistently inconsistent in that I (myself) have no problem with filing my seeds by botanical or common name, so the list will be made as such also.....anyone can simply use Hortiplex and type in either the common or botanical name and get full info on the plant. I'm going to put in the winter sowing link, and if anyone has any questions please let me know and I'll do my best to explain something that might not be clear. For me this is year number three with winter sowing and I am looking forward to it....I need it this year. Really. I found it's a good way to "connect" with mother nature (and/or ourselves) and creating a little bit of life goes a very long way in making big personal inside smiles and right now so many of us truly need that. Good luck to everyone whose going to give it a try.....it REALLY works! Trudi Here is a link that might be useful: How to Winter Sow Seeds Outdoors ~ 2001