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Zone identification

wendymadrewendymadre Posts: 10
in Tools and techniques
I am curious about the different gardens that all you gardeners write about.  Can't we identify our locations, roughly, so as to make the discussions clearer?  I just read a post about "Whirlwind, " a Japanese anemone, and whether or not it can handle the winter.  One gardener responded by complaining that it's a pest.  I have Japanese anemones flourishing in my Virginia garden, and yes, they are quite "vigorous".  But maybe they aren't in colder climates?  Knowing each gardener's zone would enhance the discussions.

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Hello Wendy.Welcome to the forum. 
    This is a UK site . Even though  conditions vary with location,we are all in the same zone -whatever it is😉.
    We have several members from all over the world, including a number based in US  and it certainly helps if people say where they are when asking  for advice😊
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • wendymadrewendymadre Posts: 10
    B3: Thanks for clarifying that there aren't many (proportionately) gardeners on your site from the other areas in the anglophone world.  I expected more input from the koalas and kiwis.  
       You're all within at least 70 miles or roughly 112 kilometers from the sea, although I suppose that still some areas get more snow and others boast a balmier winter.  But basically, you're all on the same page with late and early frost dates.  Interesting. 

    I'm an hour from the Atlantic Ocean myself.  We  may or may not get snow in the winter.  When we do, it doesn't cover the ground the whole season.  Our summer temperatures are high and humid and long lasting.  My neighbor's shade garden is lovely and refreshing in July; other gardens are frowsy and stressed.  I am tempted to switch over to shade, but my roses are glorious in May.  
           
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    edited April 2020
    I don't think I remember a balmy winter, but this one was very mild. There's a big difference in frost dates between Scotland/ North of England and the south /south west of England and pockets of this and that in between
    Gardeners' World is a UK TV programme and magazine.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited April 2020
    The UK has a surprisingly wide range of "zones".  The west is generally milder and wetter because of the Gulf Stream and prevailing westerlies bringing in rain from the Atlantic.  The east side gets North sea winds, more Arctic blast and is drier.  Parts of Essex get as much rain as the Sahara desert - 20cms - whilst the Lake District in the NW gets over 4m some years.

    There is also a wide range of soils from sandy through chalky to clay and they can be acid, neutral or alkaline and aspect will make a huge difference to growing conditions as well as whether a garden is sheltered, urban, exposed, rural, coastal.

    This is what leads the UK to having some of the most glorious public, private, large and small gardens in the world and the ability to grow plants from many regions of the world and in a wide range of styles.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I knew someone would come along who could explain it better than me @Obelixx😉
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    And its why we are famous for talking about the weather!


        
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    @wendymadre- if you go into your settings, you can add a 'signature', and a photo etc if you want.
    As you can see - @B3, @Obelixx and myself have a little tag with roughly where we are  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • wendymadrewendymadre Posts: 10
    Fairygirl,

         Now that you mention it, I see that you're in West Central Scotland.  Thanks!
          I have watched Monty Don's shows, as well as old seasons of "Garden Rescue," and Alan Titchmarsh.  And oh yes!  "Rosemary and Thyme". 
         Yes, English gardens are famous here as well as your penchant for discussing the weather.  My friends and I do that, too.  When I used to be on Facebook, I was a member of a group called "Weather Bitching for Gardeners".  I didn't have serious complaints compared to gardeners facing blizzards in Illinois.  We had a destructive ice  storm on Christmas Eve in 1998, and before we moved here there was a tornado in 1993.  But generally, we don't get exciting and extreme weather.
         So we talk about whether it's going to rain.  
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