Suzanne,
Good Morning.
You don’t give me much information about this Japanese Maple tree such as how long has it been planted, what variety, sun / shade exposure. So, not 100% sure how to answer your question on “what would cause a Japanese maple tree to die”. The cause could be underground – poor draining soil that is rotting the roots, Voles that have eaten the root system, etc. Now, some maples are just recovering now from being set back by our cold, April weather that gave us some frost and freeze after some of our trees and shrubs had broken dormancy and started to put out growth. Sorry, just not sure. Doug

Good Morning.
I wish I had a magic wand and a magic cure to offer you in protecting hostas from being eaten by deer. Hostas is salad to deer. In order to protect the hosta will take a lot of diligence on your part to be spraying the hostas with deer deterrent products on a regular basis. Also, you can try to surround the hostas with deer deterrent plants that have a strong sense such as many of the herbs, Good luck. Also, there is a plant food called Milorganite that has a strong odor and is thought to be a deer deterrent product. Your task is not an easy one. Good luck. Doug

James,
Good Morning.
Yes, I think there is merit in trying to do some planting. The ferns should be quite happy living in a woodland setting. Just be sure to amend the clay soil with some good, organic matter such as leaf compost. As for clematis, most clematis plants are sun-lovers. If you have a sunny location in the area then this is where I would recommend planting a clematis and have something, like a trellis, that it can climb upon. June is Perennial Gardening Month and now is a great time to be planting perennials. Doug

Cynthia,
Good afternoon.
A couple causes come to mind as to why your zucchini flowers are falling off. One reason – early in the growing season the plant will produce more male flowers than female flowers. So, this could be a reason for seeing flowers falling off.
Another cause is poor pollination. We have a lack of pollinators for our gardens. If the female flower is not pollinated then it will age and fall off. Lack of pollinators is something that many gardeners having been facing in recent years.
Another cause could be with care. Insufficient watering or inconsistent watering could cause the flowers to fall.
Let’s hope it is the first reason that I mentioned and as the plant grows and mature then you will have more female flowers and you will start seeing baby zucchini start to grow. Good luck, Doug