Newbie - Please be Gentle. :-)

[ron-in-norcal]

Yes, there definitely is zone envy! I remember most of my gardening life until I moved to California wishing I could grow lupines and perennial delphiniums, as well as alstroemerias and penstemons (to name a few wish list plants). Well, I've grown all those, plus peonies, etc., that were impossible in the deep south and Florida, and loved them. But, San Diego lets me grow an enormous amount of things outdoors year-round, but probably not the regular lilacs. Sooner or later I'll have to get one of the Descanso hybrids, because it's just very difficult to beat the fragrance of a lilac. At least we can grow lavender here, they're practically weeds!

[RandomGemini]

Lilacs are what my part of the country is known for. I love stepping outside in the spring and early summer, because you can smell the lilac everywhere. It's wonderful. That's something I would definitely miss if I were moving further south.

[DavidL_MO]

Yeah - I have one lilac mere feet from my screened in large porch. Sweet. It is ~ 18 x 12.

But what I dread here in 5b/6a is the fact that my crape myrtle only grow ~ 5 - 6 feet tall. Heh

Oh well - you know what?

We have all kinds of USDA Zones on this board and yet we ALL can grow Orchids :-))