Today at work I had the following conversation with a couple of co-workers…
“I would never live north of zone 6 but zone 7 would be perfect. It is in the upper end of some plant ranges and the lower end of others”
“Zone 8 would be my ideal but I agree nothing north of zone 6. If I can’t grow peonies and magnolias I want nothing to do with it.”
“Zone what? I’ve heard of people saying they would never live north of Columbus but where on earth is zone 6???”
It is funny how we gardeners speak a language those who don’t garden just don’t understand. How many of you, when considering a place to live take into account sun hours, shading, drainage and climate zone? If you do you are one of us!
I am in Australia and so the zone rating system is not really used, however the same principles apply when looking at where to live. In my area my primary concern if I was to move would first be, does it have good quality water available either from an underground bore or from a stream. Second would be what is the soil like? I would like soil with at least some loam content. Third would be an easterly aspect to get morning sunlight and miss some of the baking afternoon sun that we get (though it is good for lighting up those wonderful grasses that sparkle in the fading light). The best part about my location is that with good management it is possible to create a broad range of garden styles. Sure I will never enjoy the magic of snow and ice or the woodland jewels that need a hard winter, but I can have a Mediterranean gravel garden, prairie/ perennial garden, tropical garden and with a few strategically planted bamboos an Asian style garden. So although each garden style will have periods of stress it is possible to have a big piece of the garden pie, but then only those with a gardeners heart would understand and appreciate the value in it.
David,
I would love to see pictures of your garden. I grew up in a place that rarely if ever saw snow. There are things you can grow that I can only dream about and as you said the same is true for you. I have just recently become interested in bamboo but am limited in the varieties that will survive our winters. Many will survive a typical winter but it only takes a few below 0 F days to cut that number way down.