Zones for Gardening

It's already the last day of April and the last day of the A to Z Challenge. I can't believe I managed to post every day and most of the posts were actually on target! I imagine you are as surprised as I am. I truly hope that out of the 26 days you learned one new thing, or added something to your list or managed to plant something awesome. Our Garden season is just getting ready to swing into gear here and we hope that you wander back our way for updated and new ideas as the season progresses. If your interested in crafts be sure to check out my other blog Everything But a Moose. It's fallen a bit behind but I'll be picking back up on both blogs in the week to come!


So for the last day of the Challenge and the Letter Z I'm talking about Zones. Yep plant hardiness zones. Here's a great map up the states to help you understand what I mean by zones, I feel sure there are ones for Canada also and other countries.

The Hardiness Zone is a representation of the average winter lows for a region. Plants are often listed with a hardiness in a certain zone. Want to know if it will do well where you live, find your zone and see. It doesn't mean that you can't have that Banana tree in North Carolina, just make sure that you plant it in a pot, it'll need to come in during the winter.

You often see the same zones on seed packages telling you when to plant seeds. This relates to the first and last frosts for an area.

I promote buying local a lot and I'm going to do it again here. If you are looking for a bush for your yard it's best to check with a local nursery. They know more about what is native to your area, what has become adapted to your area and what just won't work. Large box stores don't mean to sell things that might become invasive in your yard, they just might not know. Don't take chances, spend your money in your area and end up with something you love and that loves your climate too! You might be surprised at what you find.




Image from USDA- Plant Hardiness Zone Map

According to the Zones we were not in an area to have lilacs, yeah they might grow here but they couldn't take the heat, literally! Chris is the one who wanted them, being from Michigan and all, he really missed them. But we kept bugging our friends at the Nursery and they came up two great varieties that can grow here. They are blooming now and I wish I could send you a sample of how great they smell, but I'll have to settle for just sharing a picture.

If you are in our Zone I can tell you that Lil' Kim and Korean Lilacs do great!

Thanks for taking this crazy journey with me and for popping in every now and again. Thanks for the support, the comments and just for stopping by. I appreciate it! Check in again, there are tons of updates to be done and some info on a few DYI projects. We are always coming up with projects..lol
 Have a great May!