Zone Map - Knowing Your Grow Zone is Gardening 101

Successful gardening starts with knowing our "Grow Zone!"

This is a great tool to use when planning out your garden. Research the zone hardiness of each plant of choice before you buy and remember that this map is to be used as a helpful guide. Some plants can go down a zone depending on various factors. If you attempt to grow a plant that is tagged for one zone warmer - maybe 2, you could be very successful if you provide proper winter protection and, better yet, also place the plant in a protected location in your garden.

My east side of my house gets full sun till about 1pm and it is fully protected from the chilly winter winds from the west - Gees, say that three times! With those factors, I can easily plant a zone up. If I provide good winter mulch and additional protection like an insulated rose cone, I could probably go up maybe 2 zones. Now, that getting crazy man!!!

Since I love artichokes (globe) and so do my kids, I want to try my luck at growing that perennial. However, the artichoke (globe) plant has Zone 7. That's 2 up from my normal zone. Can I do it? That is my mission; I'll let you know how that goes. I'm soon to have a blog on my site, where I can post new articles or up-dates and it will be there easily for anyone to follow-up on. That reminds me, "Don't forget to sign-up for Mrs. B's Post! There's lots of good, useless (until the day you realize that you needed that information) and silly information that I pass along; all for the fun of gardening and giving back to your precious backyard wildlife.