Raleigh, I use plastic covering (clear or black) with "x" slits in them for the strawberry plant to fit through. The plastic is snug to the ground and weighted down, the drip lines stay under the plastic. This is the first season I've done that and it has proven beneficial. I already have fruits! I am in Southern California, so I know the timing is different, but in recent weeks we've had lows in the low 40's at night. I planted the strawberries back in late december and plan on removing the plastic in about 3 weeks. On the Central coast of California you can see strawberry fields for miles, all of the farmers use plastic sheeting as well, just make sure not to cover the leaves, as it is used to keep the soil and roots warm. When the weather stays consistently over 55F or so at night you can take off the plastic for the spring and summer for good. Have fun!

IMO, you are probably over doing it! I live in Charleston near the beach and our temps will be in the upper 20's. Earlier this year we had temps in the upper teens that lasted for over 12 hours. This is unusual in our area as I have resided in the area for over thirty years and have only seen temps in the teens on a few occasions. When the temps dropped earlier this year many citrus trees were defoliated from the cold. However, the majority regained their foliage by late Spring and are doing well.

once a year.. shapren your shovel.. and just re establish the weed free zone ... come on.. you can do it .. lol .. now.. no way in the world.. i would plant in a tree this time of year ... i would .. in the pot its in now ... pot it into a much larger pot [no root disturbance].. and backfill the pot.. so it wont blow over in every wind .. and the bigger pot will keep the smaller pot cooler ... i would then plant the tree in the proper planting time for your area ... in my MI.. it april BEFORE it leafs out ... just because you buy it ... does not mean its the right time to plant it ... also.. i would never put a tree on irrigation ... after a good soaking in.. they simply dont need that much water .. once a week.. insert finger. and find out if it needs water .. might be a month, with good mulch.. before it needs to be watered again .... see link for planting and after care ... or.. just wing it.. go ahead.. plant it ... live and learn ... ive done that.. win some. lose some ... especially if you have a guarantee from the store ... ken https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

Most foundation planting beds are far too shallow. A neighbor who is a great gardener and whose aunt was a local landscape architect, once told me that the foundation bed should be half the height from the ground to the top gutter of the house. That seemed impossibly wide to me, but every 2 years, I have extended my front beds and she was absolutely right. It makes such a difference. For me, seeing things from the INSIDE of the house is important, too. I have some huge hosta in my front beds (the deer don't seem to like the big-leaved hostas the way they do the finer ones), but between them and the house, there is ground cover and hardy ferns. One used to see the ferns behind the hosta - no longer as the hosta are so large - but from my LR windows, I look out to a little "secret garden" of ferns nearer the windows. I love it! I put in lower windows in my LR and my library on the front of my house just to bring the outside inside - same with a huge low window in my breakfast room and the french doors in the DR - the better to see my garden and bring it into the house. It breaks my heart that I can no longer work in my garden due to age and various infirmities, but I still take a keep interest and have trained my totally untrained yard man to do many things, something he is SO proud of now and he feels an ownership of what we have created after my husband died. He and I adored working in the garden together. We never had children together - he was a 37 yr old bachelor when we married and I had two children from a previous marriage - so the garden was OUR baby. I just wish he could see the improvements I've continued to make in the nearly 12 years he's been gone. I think he would approve.