@karenerwin We went through this with my maternal grandparents too, several years ago. It was difficult. 'Til the day he died my grandfather insisted he'd get his driver's license back. Grandma was the guilt-tripper. ;P
Thanks
@Sueby! It is also nice to know we're not the only ones wrangling trees around...Ours do flower every year, and sometimes again in summer after we toss them outside into the full blast of the sun, and we've gotten fruit—not much, but it is pretty cool. The trees survived the night, thank God. They can be a pain when the temps change, but they are pretty and fun to have. Maybe we will build a greenhouse this year...a tiny heated one for our behemoths... ;D
So far as lettuce, I grow all kinds—arugula, butterheads, mixed leaf, romaine...darn...there's another type I can't remember. Spinach I figure is more of a veggie. Usually I sow the seeds around St Pat's, then again mid-April, since they don't mind the cold. We have a topsoil/compost mixture in the beds (more compost now, I top it off with and spade in multiple bags every spring). Maybe the soil is too heavy? What is the ideal sun/shade ratio? Perhaps mine are getting blasted by the fireball, too. ;P I hear you about the frost/freezes and not being able to put starts out! I winter sow, making it not a huge deal, but it feels so good to get everybody into the garden beds.
Beautiful flowers,
@Wee Farmer Sarah! Very statuesque.
@Sequel, those tunnels look fabulous! We're going to use cattle panels for our tomatoes this year. Maybe the beans, too, should I decide to send some up over the garden gate-let.
Sorry about your pumpkins & watermelon,
@Peppercorngal. That is always so disheartening! I had the tiniest baby spinach coming up at the end of March or so...squirrel decided to romp through the bed looking for acorns.
Had other things going on here today, and meant to sow some various seeds into the garden, but alas; didn't happen. That said, our tortie cat, Lucy, decided to eat some seedlings sitting on the window ledge. I'd popped their bitty greenhouse top off. So a great leap backwards!
Sometimes I wonder how they survived extinction so long.
Something ate my pumpkins and watermelon. I think it was the rabbits. Damn! 
I had planned on digging out some sod, but even with my winter coat and gloves on I was too cold so I came in and took a nap with the space heater running. I stayed up too late when I got home from work last night.
