One week to go and hardening off stress

Last week I needed to get some plants transplanted outside in their final pots because I need the room. The nursery downstairs is too crowded. The weather here in southeast Michigan (zone 6A) is a roller-coaster! Like today 84 sunny and stormy, then tonight down to 36. That's why I’m only doing the plants that will end up pots so I can move them around. Next week the weather stabilizes and looks good to plant the in-ground plants. I thought having them up near the house would protect them from storms and keep them a bit warmer at night. But the sun spanked them before I could get some fabric screens over them. They can tolerate the cold because they are coming from the cool basement. But the 1^st few days it was warm and sunny kicked their ass a bit. Hardening off is no joke, with 128 plants I am not setup to do it correctly. You will notice some sun scolding and loss of leaves in the last pics. They are stressed now but will bounce back once they get accustomed to their new shoes and the weather settles down. The chicken wire is to keep the squirrels out.