On 4-8-21, I lifted a rock in my wooded backyard and found a nest of these insects. They looked and behaved like ants, but they are all white/translucent. What are they?

Any idea what caused this damage? It is located on a fenced neighborhood pool grounds currently closed.

We will have multiple night time temperatures below freezing this week. How best to protect plum, cherry, and apple trees from freezing. I have never had a plum in the seven years since I planted the tree due to April freezes.

I planned my entire garden around having 2 bunches of Giant Sacaton. Of course High Country Gardens now has it marked as out of stock. Do you know where I can get this plant either grown or by seed by May? I have searched high and low on the internet, but would prefer to buy local if possible.

Hello, I live in Larkspur, 6500 elev. Is it too late (april12) to cut back virginia creeper and forsythia? Both are very woody, we moved in last fall. Thank you! Patricia Black

I had an arborist come by to look at our silver maple because of a squirrel nest inside the tree — we need to eradicate the squirrels. He suggested I contact a pest control company, but they say they only deal with squirrels in building structures. Any ideas? I’d like to get them out and then install a heavy-duty cover on the access areas so we can save the tree. The arborist also suggesting cabling the tree because of vulnerable areas in the main trunk that could split. Do you think cabling a tree is a good idea?

I have a dogwood tree (cornus florida?) whose flower bracts just appeared but they are deformed and have spots on them. They also seem a bit smaller than they were last year. Looking back at photos from last year, it seems a few flowers had the spots then, but this year it's almost all of them.

Hello, we recently had our lawn treated and sprayed with weed killer. My garden is in the middle of the yard without much of a barrier and it seems that the lawn treatment got into my garden where I’ve already planted onions, strawberries, lettuce, carrots and spinach. Will this negatively impact my garden soil and plants? Will they be safe for my family including young children to eat? If not then how would I fix my garden for future use? I’ve only done organic gardening in the past and never sprayed any weed killer on the plants, and when my husband started up the lawn care service I didn’t even consider the garden. Thanks!

Hello, Our backyard has a very steep incline and it is difficult to mow. Someone suggested planting Crown vetch. Then it would not need to be mowed. Is that a good idea? Is there a certain variety that must be used? Is it already too late for this year? Thank you for your help with this.

Hi, We have had issues with several trees dying since we purchased our home 10 years ago. The first three were various species of oak trees and the most recent was a dogwood tree. In each case, the core of the tree was very healthy and the damage appeared to be just under the bark. In a couple instances, we spotted what appeared to be red ants coming out of the tree as it was being cut down. We've sprayed extensively for carpenter ants, but still lost yet another tree. What can we do to save our trees from attack?