Where are you?

Very good point Wohlibuli. It would be nice to know what area of the US people are from. Growing conditions in one state may be vastly different from those in another. :o)

Yes, this information is useful.
As you say, members can put climate zone if they don't wish to be very specific. I like to look up where people live. It's often then much easier to understand comments they make about their gardens and plants.

Ithink this infomation would be good, like TT i like looking up places people live, and comments on their gardens, its like at the moment , one part of America as loads of snow, and other parts it hot and sunny.

Yes, I would prefer it was mandatory to declare which part of the country we live in wherever in the world we are. It is wonderful to hear at first hand what the climate and landscape is like and very educational too. Moreover, we view users of GoY as friends and it is very strange to communicate with friends without knowing roughly where they are.

Map reading never was my strong point but joining this site its like being re.educated albeit a bit late in life,Lol

I absolutely agree with you, an indication of where people are would be such a help in trying to answer questions!

I love the educational aspect of this site. I have listed my county in Arizona but then I realized we have so many elevations that the growing zones within this tiny county are numerous so I went back to my profile and listed my zone. Great idea, Wohli....the problems we face in Arizona are not answered by simply considering the USDA cold hardiness zone, we must also be aware of the American Horticulture Society heat zone map. This takes into consideration the average amount of days over 86 degrees which can also have a negative impact on plant viability. (In certain parts of Arizona, you also need to consider the intensity of the heat as it gets over 100 degrees and the lack of humidity.) I do have 2 different books which also assist me in picking my plants but these are not updated for newer plants that come on the market. These issues can be somewhat frustrating so I sometimes do a lot of guessing.

Does your local Garden Centre help in choosing suitable plants?

my geography has improved loads since i joined this site.

The nearest garden center to me, Spritz, is 43 miles away and in a totally different climate zone. My small town has a grocery store, bank, post office and a few local restaurants....I get my plants online or when I make a trip to Phoenix so I consult the internet a lot but most online nurseries do not give heat zone info. only cold hardiness.

I have that problem too, Skippy. I'm up a mountain, 600 mtrs, in northern Spain and the very few garden centres we have discovered are all down in valleys or on the coast. Even the garden stall at the Monday market in our local town is in the valley so I have to ignore the displays of wonderful potted plants and get my knowledge from nosing around other villages in the mountains.

Wow, I can see that microclimates can be frustrating. I guess under those circumstances you would have to lean more on experience and the knowledge of your neighbors. For you Skippy the county extension service may be a good resource. You will be a help to anyone else new to your microclimate also!