Quote:
Originally Posted by Goldfields
That's interesting , Hazel, your first frost can hold off till November, whereas it's a rule of thumb here that you don't plant tomatoes till Melbourne Cup Day, the first Tuesday in November, to avoid the last of our frosts. I just took a look at the Zones in my Botanica(of 10,000 garden plants) and see that there would not be many roses at all that could thrive in Canada's climate. That's sad, but shows it's not your fault if you can't grow them, it's your climate.
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I'm not in Canada, so I couldn't use that excuse even if it was valid.
I just don't get along with roses.
I think it's genetic--Mom didn't have much luck, either.
Early spring gardens are mostly just bulbs around here, but we make up for it with summer and autumn flowers. Mid-spring through November are very colorful!
It all hinges on using plants that are suited to the climate--probably one of the reasons my natives do so well compared to my nursery plants. A lot of tender plants will grow here, too, as long as you bring them in for the winter. For instance, I have 4 planters of impatiens that are between 2 and 5 years of age--I just cut them down, put them in a sunny window and water them once a week during winter. By spring they need another trim, and I hang them out when it's going to be above freezing at night. They just keep going and going and going, much to hazel's surprise.
