Getting in the Zone

Okay, I’m going to come right out and say it - I hate maps.

Especially when they are like the USDA Zone Map when I need to know what the outline of my county looks like to know if I am in a particular planting zone.  If I am being honest, I don’t even know what the name of my county is, much less what it looks like on the map!  Still, there is a lot of important information to be gleaned from knowing your planting zone so there has to be an easier way, right?  Right!

The National Gardening Association has created a section of their website that is tailor made for people like me who can barely even point to the state I live in (that’s the state of Georgia, not the state of confusion).  See, all you have to do is go here and enter your zip code.  Not only will this site tell you what your planting zone is, it will also give you a regional report, a link to public gardens and events in your zip code and even a list of plants that work in your zone.

(HINT: if you don’t know your zip code, look at a piece of junk mail.)

For more information, visit the National Gardening Association’s USDA Hardiness Zone Finder on the web at garden.org/zipzone