Thanks, Diane! I like your answer because I had the same question, except that I have over 100 roses which have been producing new growth, so there is really nothing I can do about it. We are 400 miles South of Portland, but they are predicting the same Arctic cold air mass is going to come see us - they are predicting SNOW here at sea level on Friday! (first time since 1976). At least everything is well watered - we got 5 inches of rain in six days last week. So, I will just hope for the best - as you say, I am not really worried about the roses except for some damage. Luckily we do not have any citrus trees, but lots of folks around here do - the news is already advocating putting bags over them, etc. The commercial crops will be hit hard if it lasts at all, because everything is just coming into bloom. Jackie

It looks as though you, or whoever drew the plan, mostly followed/paralleled the track of the Comcast, and maybe phone lines, (are the electric wires in front, or is it also in the back? If in front, does it run along the driveway into the garage?) as you decided where your SW bed was going to go - very clever. It would seem as though the planned spot for the oak (which I assume is replacing the HL next to the patio, since you didn't say) will be far enough from the lines not to have a problem. One thing you might definitely do, ASAP, is call both the power, phone and Comcast people and have someone come and mark where the lines run, unless the marks are still visible. That way, your memory maybe being off by a foot or three, there will be no nasty surprises. They'll do it for free - it's usually a "call-before-you-dig program", or some such name - since it saves mightily on their repair time! Digging the holes ahead of delivery is not a bad idea, although the crew coming to plant may have to do more work on them. YOu don't have to do it, esp. if you are paying for the job and not for the hour. If all they are doing is delivering, then having the holes, and having them deliver the trees next to the holes would be good. It wouldn't hurt, if the man (or woman) power is available, to place the plants in their planned spots, and take a few minutes to look at them from several angles, including inside and upstairs. You may see some minor tweaking that you can do, even at that stage. It's a LOT easier to re-dig a hole than to try to move a tree, or to kick yourself for the next umpty-ump years about how that tree would have been better over there, just a bit. A future tree near the play area/structure is an excellent idea. I am not sure a Sycamore is the best bet, as they can get very large, can be messy, and, if a friend's experience is common, can cause allergies in some people. If you do decide you want to put a tree there, start another thread, as this one is covering enough topics, and confusing readers enough, already!

Scott: You have a wonderfully clear understanding of the deer overpopulation issue. Thank you for adding some extra clarity. I also like your idea of the use of salt licks for "birth control." That way no one has to shoot "Bambi." Pam: The cages are quite easy to make, except for one or two points. First, the rolls are terribly heavy. At Southern States here in Winchester, they load them in my Suburban with a forklift, but a very strong young man can lift one. I jockey them back and forth to roll them out and am careful to get out of the way when I get them to tumble out. I never buy more than two rolls at a time to leave room for this maneuvering. I brace them in the Suburban with bricks. After that it is pretty simple. Find a place with some room to piece-by-piece unroll them for cutting. I use some small bolt cutters to cut the wire, securing the free end with weights to keep it from rolling up on me. The next step might be difficult for you, depending on the strength in your hands/fingers. That is twisting the cut ends--just 3/4 of a turn, really--to secure them. I do this at only three points--more is not necessary. I do the top in one direction, the middle in the other, and then the bottom back again, to add a bit of stability. And each side at each level I twist in the opposite direction. Wearing heavy gloves makes this easier. I am 70 with some arthritis in my fingers, so I am not that strong either. My guess is you could make the same number I do, but it takes just a bit of practice. Of course you could use some kind of soft tie wire to secure them--that would not take any extra time. The way I do it adds some stiffness and makes the rolls keep their round shape better. But using the tie wire with a one section overlap should be just as good. That would just require about 5% more wire per cage. I cut each cage at the 19 section point--that makes cages about 3 1/2 feet across at the top (although I am not completely sure the sections are exactly the same with all brands of this wire), which is wide enough to give protection. A very few times I have had deer put their head/tongue through and nibble anyway. In a few cases I have put extra wire--chicken wire around the upper part to prevent this. I also put the larger openings at the bottom--to accomodate the anchoring rocks and to make the openings higher up harder for the deer to poke their heads through. Finally, you really need the taller wire--anything less than the 46 inches will not be enough. Yes, I put these around the trees and just leave them there until they are not needed. Keeping in place them until the trees are 6" caliper is perhaps overdoing it a little. The risk is less after they are 4", but I have had some scraped minimally up to 6". If the bark gets thick, that affords some protection a bit earlier. Black Walnuts at about 4 inches are fairly safe. Tough lower branches at the "rubbing level" can add extra protection with hardwoods. With pines the deer will simply strip all the lower branches off to get to the trunk. --Spruce

No frost here last night but it was close. Waiting for Paula to report in from Central Ontario - her coverage of her hostas should have her protected. Average last frost here is May 20 so this is certainly not unheard of nor is a very early June frost. But I would expect the weather to warm now and that there will be no more frost risks for this spring. The only good the late frost brings is to set back the mosquito population. Just as an aside, I am in zone 4. I had been trying to grow some Baltic Ivy and Rhodendendrons- both supposedly hardy to zone 5. They survived the first winter. But this past winter, despite keeping them well mulched and planting in a protected area and an about average winter with only a couple of nights in the -33C area, all perished. I never learn but have now sworn off trying to grow anything that requires such babying. Doug