Perennials, got to love them

[Addy]

Wild flowers along our garage, on their third summer. These are always the first to bloom

red tip photina among the wild flowers

clementis

perry speedwell, a nearly dead plant from lowes last year and lirope

spider wort

 

[Addy]

 

[j.w]

You've got lots of pretty ones blooming addy! Not much happening here, a few tulips and other little bulbs but mostly just the bloomin rain,lol!

 

[sissy]

I have to look good at some plants here and in NC when I but them as the tags say they are annuals but here they turn out to be perrennials and always have to double check the in my plant book I care with me

 

[j.w]

Good idea sissy! What zone are you in?

 

[sissy]

They say 7 but since i am so close to NC I wonder with the climate changes and now that they have officially put out the new zone map .Makes me wonder .I was watching the almanac gardener show on the NC station on tv and all the zone maps they were showing are so different .Confusing me and has me scratching my head saying huh.I know flowers and plants are still going by the old zone map and by what they say it will take a few years to figure that out with plants .

 

[j.w]

I have always been zone 7 don't know if a or b but we also have Sunset zones.
Guess I'm a 6 or 7 in that area. I don't know if mine has changed w/ the new set up. This chart was put up here August of 2011. So would this one be current or did it change this year?
Climate Zones

SUNSET ZONES
The Sunset zones, popularized and researched by Sunset Magazine, are derived from climate zones developed by the University of California Cooperative Extension. Sunset zones are based on a combination of extremes and averages of minimum, maximum, and mean temperature, rainfall, humidity, and the length of the growing season.
USDA ZONES
USDA zones are more widely used. These zones are based on the average minimum temperature in a given region.
CONVERSION CHART
To the right is a general conversion chart of USDA zones: (Note that the Sunset equivalent zones are rough approximations and do not correlate completely with the USDA zones.)

 

[j.w]

Ok found this link to the new conversion chart for 2012, looks like I might be 8a now. I don't think my plants will survive if I choose zone 8 plants till they change all the tags to match up like you said:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/local/planthardinesszones/index.html

 

[sissy]

thats the one they had but it list part of NC as zone 7b and they are saying it is more like zone 8 in the last 2 years and there are pockets that are even warmer than ever before

 

[sissy]

I am 7 b and I i have had plants growing here for 3 years that only grow in zones 8 or even 9 .Maybe that is why my cold hardy palms are not doing as good as the used too .

 

[j.w]

Well wish those pockets would float up here to make us a bit warmer! This winter wasn't so cold but those few before have been Iceland cold! Wonder what this coming winter will bring............hope not back to below normal temps like before!

 

[sissy]

I am worried more about summer as we have not had the rainfall and since there was no melting of snow that makes it worse .It is in the 90's and only May .

 

[j.w]

Unreal sissy! Whew 90's! We are in the 40's.............what a diff!

 

[sissy]

yeh and it is really that steamy humid heat .I mowed a little of the grass and then come in and cool off .I just have to finish trimming the lawn is finally done .I know if it rains it will cool off for awhile but heat will come back .temporary fix

 

[j.w]

Well you could always move here where it rains all the time and you don't have to worry about the heat,lol!