Well...I appreciate all your responses, and I'm going to assume it's a common garter snake...for my OWN peace of mind...LOL I believe he was so grumpy because of the flash from the camera...it probably scared the bejeezus out of'm. Plus...I'm wondering if it isn't the onset of hibernation time. I mean, afterall, he WAS way down under some pretty hard, clay covered by about 4" of mulch. He was probably sleeping...or getting his last full meal of night crawlers when I uncovered him. *I'm in SE PA, not Florida at the moment. He's gone now and I don't know where...hehehe...but I covered the hole back up with the mulch. BTW: When I let Picture it! automatically tweak the color and brightness levels, the colors of the snake were changed a bit. Here are two pics showing actual color...

I passed the info on with some sites about control strategies. It sounded to me that she was pulling them out after flowering. She tried mowing while they were small but they came back from the roots early in the year.

The first sure looks like Red-tips Photinia to me. The so-called 'Cleyera' of commerce is actually Ternstroemia gymnanthera. The photo does not look like Ternstroemia to me. Ternstroemia has extremely glossy and leathery (almost rubbery) leaves that grow in whorls toward the ends of the branches with very little fold in the leaf. No leaf serrations, and with usually a blunted or rounded tip. Also, Ternstroemia should be showing spent blooms about now and maybe even some seed. The true Cleyera japonica (also called Sakaki) is very rare in commerce. It has a unique terminal bud that is sort of hooked like a little finger.

Randi Since of my location/growing zone, my plants have to be inside for a long time. And I am just lucky that I have garden so I can put them outdoors for Summer. Many ppl live in apartments and may not have even a small balcony, and still grow very nice and healthy plants indoors. To prevent lots of etiolation, I use supplemental lights. And I believe that keeping them relatively cool (not freezing) and dry helps to slow down growth during short winter days. Many do not water succulents for extended periods of time, like 2 mo or even longer. But if they are kept warm, they likely keep growing more and need lots of light. Many are dormant during cold months anyways. I do not know how cold is winter in your location, but perhaps plants can overwinter in unheated GH or sunroom?