New England Gardening Guide

Cold wet winters, hot humid summers and the best fall foliage in the country --  New England ranges from zone 6 down in Connecticut to zone 3 in parts of Maine and New Hampshire. In the right conditions, you might even be able to get away with a plant better suited to higher zones.

The last frosts can be any time from late April to early June. Memorial Day is a good bet for planting in most areas. The cold, snowy winters can be very good for many perennials but don't forget that snow and ice can rip limbs from trees and shrubs.

Many flowering perennials will do well in New England. Cold, snowy winters help perennials thrive. Irises,  peonies,  coneflowers,  lupines,  daylilies  and others, especially bulbs, will grow well in many parts of New England. Summers in most areas are warm enough for almost all annuals -- peonies, petunias, Impatiens and marigolds are easy ways to add color. There are a number of cool-area plants that can be grown in New England which would find more southerly climates too hot, including larkspurs,  poppies,  some alyssums  and others.

Most vegetables will do well provided you can get an early, indoor start on hot-weather crops like tomatoes,  peppers  and corn.  Peas  and lettuces  will do well as long as you avoid the late frosts. Squash  and zucchini,  given the right start, will produce abundantly.

Bird feeders will attract many species year-round. In the summer, try adding a fruit feeder  to attract orioles and set out mealworms for bluebirds. In the winter, suet  and seeds  will bring nuthatches, chickadees, juncos, cardinals, woodpeckers and other winter residents. A hummingbird garden  may not get many visitors but a butterfly garden  will see plenty of traffic.

External Links

• General
• Garden.org -- general information about New England.
• Yankeemagazine.com -- gardening tips for New England.
• By State
• Maine
• Umext.maine.edu -- University of Maine. What to plant and not plant to keep out invasive species in Maine.
• Umext.maine.edu -- University of Maine. Hardiness zones for Maine.

• New Hampshire
• NHPlantgrowers.org -- New Hampshire Plant Growers. A plethora of gardening links for New Hampshire.
• Directorynh.com -- list of NH garden centers.
• Gardenguides.comm -- article about the NH state flower, the lilac.

• Vermont
• Vtliving.com -- a few suggestions for what to plant in Vermont.
• Burlingtongardens.org -- community garden resources for VT.

• Massachusetts
• UMassextension.org -- gardening in Massachusetts.
• Bostongardens.com -- gardening events in Boston.
• Wmassmastergardeners.org -- W. Mass Master Gardener. Links to other pages, focus on western Mass.
• Victoryseeds.com -- average frost dates for cities in MA.

• Rhode Island
• Projo.com -- Providence Journal links to other gardening pages.
• Naturalnews.net --Natural News Network. Rhode Island website for "fresh and local" living.

• Connecticut
• Ct-botanical-society.org -- Connecticut Botanical Society. Plants native to CT for the garden.
• Conngardener.com -- Connecticut Gardener. Magazine for gardening in CT and southern New England.