005 In The Zone
Your local climate plays an important role in what plants you can grow. It might also effects whether a plant can be grown as a perennial or annual. In this episode, we explore what those terms mean and how it effects your garden.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones.
Key Terms
A Mixed Bed of Annuals & Perennials
Annual - An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one year, and then dies. Summer annuals germinate during spring or early summer and mature by autumn of the same year.
Perennial - The term (per- + -ennial, "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs, which are also technically perennials.
Biennial - A biennial plant is a flowering plant that takes two years to complete its biological lifecycle. In the first year, the plant grows leaves, stems, and roots (vegetative structures), then it enters a period of dormancy over the colder months. The plant then flowers, producing fruits and seeds before it finally dies.
Garden Wisdom
There are many tired gardeners but I've seldom met old gardeners. I know many elderly gardeners but the majority are young at heart. Gardening simply does not allow one to be mentally old, because too many hopes and dreams are yet to be realized. The one absolute of gardeners is faith. Regardless of how bad past gardens have been, every gardener believes that next year's will be better. It is easy to age when there is nothing to believe in, nothing to hope for, gardeners, however, simply refuse to grow up.
-Dr. Allan Armitage, Professor Emeritus of Horticulture, University of Georgia
