Lots of questions...need help re lilies & peonies especially...

Miracles of miracles, a few brave peonies have breached the surface,
fighting grass and weeds and compacted earth at mother's house in Indy.  I
thought they were all dead.  I didn't see one of them last year at all.
There aren't many of them, but a few of the family 'pass along' peonies and
I really do want to transplant them here in Ohio so that mother can still
enjoy them while she can.  I know they are best transplanted in the fall,
but hopefully the house will be long sold by then.  (Someone renting down
the road from mom's house moved to Indiana from California with 2 small boys
says he's prepared to make an offer if he can get financing.)  He really
likes the LARGE fenced yard.  If I needed to transplant them this month or
next, what would be the best way to handle them?  How can I get rid of the
grasses and weeds at transplant without harming the peonies?  I appreciate
any help you can give me with these peonies, especially.

I stepped into my nice warm entry way where I had put some early lily bulb
purchases--Asiatic, I think--(discounted 3bulbs for $1.50 or something like
that) only to find 3' tall fully leafed stems!  On one lily, I found 12
buds! The middle sized one has about 10 and the "runt" has 6 or 7 buds.
WOW!  These things grew like weeds.  The lilies out in the yard have just
breached the surface: that is wise when you think that we'll hit 20 F.
tonight as a low.  I'm looking forward to some inside action long before my
outdoor lilies make their brilliance known.  But then, when do I transplant
my full grown potted lilies?  Do I dry them out first?  Do I plant them out
after the last frost date?

Now here's another question, with a low of 20 predicted for tonight (though
50's should be tomorrow's high,) and scads of daffodils in glorious array,
do I make one whale of a bouquet or try to find sheets to cover everything
with.  (That will take a lot of fabric!)  I never know which is best this
time of year.  I've done both in the past with mixed results.


Blessings,
Bonnie

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