I am in Pittsburgh. I think my winters may be a little more severe than your winters. But the last two winters here have been a little colder than just a Spring day. I hope it continues for a few years.
This project is really more to stop a problem. I purchased a 4 acre property and the way the property is set up the acre beside the house looks like it is a blank spot and I have been getting people asking to purchase or people getting out of their cars and walking around the area because they think it may be land they can purchase and build a house. It is like I have a acre side yard going to my back. The house was not built in the middle of the lot.
So I put this in and was going to put some plants around the area. Maybe put an address sign somewhere around the structure.