Zone 8 gardening

[fuzzyjay]

Portland (USDA zone 8) has a much milder climate than Southern Connecticut (zone 6), where I grew up and have done most of my gardening.

I was looking out the window of a local coffee shop the other day and I saw several plants that are too tender for my former home, but thrive in Portland. Here is a partial list of plants I've seen in Portland gardens that are not possible (or well nigh impossible) to grow outside in Connecticut:

1. Gardenias! (a houseplant in CT)
   


2. Edible figs (may be grown with protection in CT)
   


3. Crape myrtles
   


4. Hardy fuchsias
   


5. Pampas grass
   


6. Passionflower vines (beyond May-pops)
   


7. Southern magnolias
   


8. Noisette and tea roses (beyond hybrid teas)
   


9. Fatsias (a houseplant in CT)
   


10. Flowering maples (Abutilon, a houseplant in CT)
    


11. Pittosporum (a houseplant in CT)
    


12. ...hmmm, there must be others I can't think of right now.
    

Comments

[mettle-metal.livejournal.com]

The biological diversity (both indigenous and introduced) of our area is one of my favourite things about it.

T. and I got some free figs this weekend. We went for a drive, and on the road going up to the St. Johns bridge, a truck with a load of tree trimmings had stopped because he'd spilled several branches over the road. We pulled over and helped him reload his truck, and it turns out one of the trees he'd trimmed was a fig, so I snagged a few of the smaller branches and now I've got six lovely figs just waiting to be eaten.

I'm still pondering why on earth he was trimming trees now.

Do they have Himalayan blackberries in Connecticut?

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

Yay!!

I donnow why, but thinking about you thinking about gardening brings me joy.

Big hugs, and more than a few sloppy kisses.