My marigold was a bit more bedraggled than this and in a somewhat crushed Daisy the Cow school lunch milk carton

I first began gardening in kindergarten. I believe it was a marigold in a cut-in-half of a milk carton that I gave to my mother for Mother’s Day. A bit soggy, very loved and slightly bedraggled from the bus ride clutched in my little fist.

No matter how many years I garden, and read gardening magazines and gardening books… it seems there is always a new little nugget to learn. My latest tidbit was a real revelation.

I’ve sometimes whined and sometimes taken pride in being able to grow and cultivate flowers in Zone 4B. Last week I learned that USDA hardiness zones only look at the number of days your area is below a certain temperature. It does not look at the number of days your area is above a certain temperature.

What this means is because Wisconsin can easily go below zero for days on end PLUS we can go above 80 or 90 degrees for what seems like forever, we are still in the same USDA zone as parts of Maine that never experience our heat. You really need to review the American Horticultural Society Plant Heat Zone Map before making a significant plant purchase.

Of course, I’m still going to be tempted by what is new, pretty and different. But maybe I’ll have more successes now.