Yes, I think it is because of the Gulf Stream and also bodies of water slow the cooling and heating up process.   D.C. is actually zone 7 and even though we are just a mile outside the city, we're zone 6.

Last edited by MsPablo (Thu 27 Oct 11 9:55pm)

Yes, thanks mads, that is exactly what I needed!

It is often misunderstood that we have extremely cold winter temperatures although our latitude is maybe in line with other places in Europe and the U.K. that are much milder and yet, we also get tropical heat and humidity in summer that equals places far south of us.  It is a very tough environment for growing and we don't get reliable snow cover as many cold places do that insulates plants.  We have terrible heaving of plant roots in winter.

Last edited by MsPablo (Thu 27 Oct 11 11:22pm)

Wow, you are a Twitter expert Mads!  I am not a Twitter follower, maybe I should be.

Where in NY is it snowing?  Probably up near where my brother lives.

snow in New York  glad that I dont live there !!
I hate snow !!!

Oh well, that is a lovely area, due north of NYC.  I don't know which area, but if you can google - check out Hyde Park, NY or Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck, Rhinecliff, very lovely places.  The Culinary Institute of America is in Hyde Park.  I've stayed in this area in a few places, one being the Beekman Arms which is one of America's oldest inns.  Franklin D. Roosevelt's home is in Hyde Park, also the Vanderbilt Mansion which has wonderful views.  It gets pretty cold up that way in winter!

A neat aspect of that area is that many 19th C. neo-gothic stone churches were converted into homes.  We went to a door of what we thought was a church on one trip through New England and the family living there had to tell us that this was no longer a church, but a private home.  Oops!