So, knowing all that... should I wait till the buds are a bit bigger and then nip them? JMO, ok? but I would snip them off as soon as they appear until after they are transplanted. I agree that plants have a natural cycle built in to their genetics. So when we are trying to force them out of that natural pattern - ie: stay in your container and make more vegetative growth now rather than setting fruit now - then leaving the blooms on defeats that goal. Sometimes I know that the plant will go ahead and drop that bloom or abort the small fruit anyway so some argue to just leave it to do what it does naturally. But if it is going to drop the blossom or abort the fruit anyway - and it would when you transplanted it - then there is no point in leaving it on the plant. Get it off ASAP and reduce the stress on the plant. Dave

My hosta on the north side of the house have poked through the mulch I put down last month. I've got seedlings popping up all over the place where I had cleome last summer. I hope they're coming back. I spread seeds all over in a much larger circle than where I had planted the three I bought on clearance. They might be weeds though. My poppies are starting to put out a lot of new growth too. I can see individual plants now and not just hunks of seedlings from my poor scattering methods. I think I'm going to be very happy with them in the end. I should thin them some I guess since most are growing very tight against each other. The thundercloud plum is blooming. The daffs are pretty much done with only a few left. The tulips came up, but there won't be any blooms this year. I guess like Nell, they just don't return here year after year without replanting. Oh well. Wintersown seedlings are putting out growth too. Some plants are already the size of my fist. I've got stargazers popping up. Asiatic dayflower is sprouting all over the place. A few pieces of purple queen are returning. And the wigela is leafing out. Another week and my Japanese Maple will be covered with real leaves. If we get another frost, I'm going to hate myself when I forget to cover it.

One of the low-growing Sedums/stonecrops might be good for this purpose. It is fairly slug-resistant. Many types will be fine in your clay soil fill, and many will do well in afternoon sun. Gold Moss sedum (Sedum acre "Aureum") might work well for you as it is very low-growing and will tolerate moderate foot traffic and full sun. Likes a dry soil, and likely will be evergreen for you in Zone 7. We have Wild stonecrop (Sedum ternatum), which is a U.S. native in our rocky areas, but this stonecrop does better with some shade. Some sedums can get slippery if stepped on directly if they are tall/long, so if you go with a sedum, be sure that it's a very compact, low-growing one that will not send out long shoots over the pavers. See the link below for a fabulous sedum/stonecrop general website that has photos of many, many varieties of sedum. It's the one plant I can think of right now that is slug-resistant, tolerates afternoon sun and clay soil, is low-growing, foot-traffic tolerant, and disease and pest resistant. You wouldn't have to water it excessively so that's always a plus too. Here is a link that might be useful: Sedum Photo gallery

Diatomaceous earth. Be carful when using this stuff, it is a very, very fine dust and can harm your lungs if breathed. Follow the precautions as stated on the label.