I don't have a lot of experience with this, but my instinct is that it may be better not to stake the trees. Trees bend to the wind so the wind does not break them. If you stake them, you may do more damage because as the wind pushes the tree, the bark or even the entire tree can be strained against the wire with which you have staked it . Some things that may help if you are prepared and safe in all other areas: 1.you could prune buds blooms off any shrubs ( the rose lilac etc) You can prune down the blueberries blackberries and even the trees so there is less for the wind to catch. 2. You don't mention where you are, other than zone 5 NE, but you said the magnolia has defoliated. Since my magnolias are just in the process of losing their leaves, but I am zone 4 central NH, I am going to assume a seasonal similarity. If you can, bring the magnolia into the garage, or inside. If it is heavy and its worth it to you you can usually rent a dolly at the hardware store that makes moving large pots easier. 3. If things are going dormant for winter where you are, as I am assuming, you can cut back any perennials. Even if they are still green, they will be going dormant before they can send out new growth - so its okay to cut them back a little earlier than you planned. 4.If you winter prune your fruit trees, you can do that now to limit wind damage. The risk is that the winter will be bad and freeze the new cuts - but my guess is that is a pretty low risk. Depending on how the forecasts progress I may do this step myself. (I have already cut back all perennials in my garden and in my customers gardens) 5. If I am correct that you are in the NE, I would also prepare for heavy wet snow. ANything you would do in your region to prepare for that I would recommend doing. Except maybe wrapping shrubs. I drove through Vermont several times this summer, and the devastation there from hurricane Irene is tremendous. The mountains funneled the torrential rains, flooding streams, rivers towns and roads. I took some pictures intending to post them for discussion; maybe this is timely, but I will start a new thread. We could also call this Hurricane Kelsey: My daughter Kelsey is flying from santiago chile to miami tonight and then to Boston tomorrow after 3 months away. The path of the hurricane is threatening her flights and I think she will be pretty upset to go from spring in Chile, completely miss fall and land in Winter here. Whatever, I just can't wait for her to get home!!

If people are still looking for a cheap solution I had the same challenges on a similar size garden plot. I added compost and manure but not enough. Before I planted for a couple weeks I sprayed Compost Tea on the ground to add moisture and then I added gypsum rock dust to help break up the clay a little bit. The compost tea was by far the cheapest way that I could help the plants. Because my soil needed so much help I ended up spraying with compost tea almost every watering, but they loved it and it was very affordable. I found DIY compost tea brewer instruction posting that really helped, and another one on the best compost tea recipes. After reading for awhile I decided I love Compost tea. Try this recipe, it's been proven under a Microscope. Compost tea: 5 gallon bucket 4 gallons of water 1.5 cups of Earth Worm Castings 1/3 Cup Molasses Aerate with 18-20watt airpump for 30 hours. Use immediately! You can pour the tea through a filter and into your sprayer or just water each plant with an equal amount. You Cannot hurt your plants with compost tea when done right. Just make sure that it doesn't smell awful, or sweet. You want it to smell earth and pleasant when you use. To sweet and the molasses hasn't been used up yet and you don't want too much of this in your soil. Also, if it smells foul, then it hasn't enough air and should be tossed!

You have to buy the roses en masse... Buy 4 get 4 free etc... I'm still waiting for their individual roses to go on sale... They do have 3 nice Austin collections though... Crown Princess Margareta, Christopher Marlowe, and Abraham Darby for $29.95 Crown Princess Margareta, Falstaff, Golden Celebration, and Jubilee Celebration for $34.95 BishopÂs Castle, Crown Princess Margareta, Falstaff, Golden Celebration, Jubilee Celebration, Christopher Marlowe, and Abraham Darby for $52.95 Here is a link that might be useful: J&P Sale Roses

I tried 2 dishwashers in separate areas once before and didn't like it. I much prefer what I have now, which is one on each side of the main sink. Especially in your case, where the cleanup area isn't that far from the prep area. I could never have a cleanup sink on a 24" deep island with no wall or extended counter behind. With the water that gets behind the faucet and the splashes on my window, I can only imagine how messy and slippery the traffic path behind that sink will be! These seems quite long and spread out. You might have room for a deeper island in the center of things, because your aisle in front of the stove seems, perhaps, roomier than you might need. I'd prefer to have the cleanup area at the end (hopefully with some dish storage room, which I really don't see anywhere), and use a slightly deeper island for prep across from the stove. I'd then end the island with the stove run or maybe the snack area, and not have it extend oddly in front of the window seat. OR I might want to swap the left sink and stove, to tighten the work area, and further separate the cooking and cleanup zones, still using a deeper island for prep. Still shortening the island. I would want to do a 90-degree front corner cabinet instead of the diagonal front base cabinet that is shown, because it intrudes on your floor space and creates an unnecessarily deep corner. With the 90-degree front, you get a wider opening to access the interior, and longer runs of cabinet edge on both adjacent runs. Plus, you'll be able to reach the wall cabinet better.