I would like to trade for some of your tree seeds. My listing on GW disappeared and I don't have it posted again. Please send me an e-mail at aclifton2004@yahoo.com Ann

Guys, thanks for the add'l replies. Last winter, I mostly kept them in storage room adjacent to the house, bringing them out for occasional watering on warmer days. That is, except for 1 tree that I brought inside maybe a bit more than a month after the first frost (i.e., allowing some dormancy, but before the coldest part of the winter) for a test case. The one kept inside did fine, and began to grow. The rest took a beating, and their main stems all died. They did resprout from the very base, but it wasn't pretty. I can technically boast of 100% survival, but last winter was a fairly mild one, temperature-wise. For various reasons (mostly, lack of space!) I need to keep these potted; I will try putting them in a bed of mulch and top soil, to see if that helps. They're so small that I'm not worried about snow load breakage yet, but I will watch for that. Sam, just saw your post as I was typing this... that's interesting that they will live up to the DC area! Thanks again.

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It could be either - the contractor thought it was a normal part of operations or the HOA asked them to do it. If you haven't been participating in the HOA governing process then this may be why you are now surprised and outraged. As mentioned earlier your first problem is that you are living in an HOA neighborhood. To me these often amount to the equivalent of condos with yards, with a similar attack and suppress the landscaping mindset tending to be evident in how properties within them look. But that is just a manifestation of a general, dominating perspective, that thinks neatness above all else is the rule - it is not usual for home lots to have fully planted, ecologically sensible and interesting outdoor spaces wherever you go. And in my area more than half of residences are rentals, with nobody on the premises having a motivation to do any serious gardening. Unless they don't care that they are investing in property they do not own. And the landlord doesn't care that they are installing features that may be seen as adding to the work and expense of maintaining the property. In addition to the many who are driven to keep their yards as tidy as their household interiors just because they like to keep things clean there are those who associate heavy pruning of plants with sophistication and money, as there is a history of formal landscapes being installed around mansions and other imposing buildings.