Marlene, I moved from IN (zone 5) to the Portland, OR area (zone 8) a few years ago. I can't answer your CA-specific questions, but you're right, there's a whole new world of gardening waiting for you! It's been a huge change but I've loved it -- the only problem I've had is facing the multitude of options I didn't have in the Midwest, and keeping my list restricted because of space limitations! What a problem to have :)

I haven't said goodbye to the Midwest forum completely -- as you can tell, since I'm replying to your post :) I still stop in because I figure all my years of gardening in the Midwest give me some experience to share here. You might want to do the same... beats saying goodbye!

Once you get to CA you'll want to peruse the bookstores/libraries. I find lots of books here on Northwest gardening styles, so it seems likely you'll see some books specific for CA-style gardening in your new area, too. And one of my favorite things to do is pick a neighborhood and go for a walk and just get a feel for what people do in their gardens. I like to see everything, from the lower-end areas where people do what they love in their gardens all the way through the upper-end areas where there are obviously garden designers and paid gardeners at work. Gives me lots of ideas on what I do and don't want and like.

Welcome to the west coast!

Calla Lilies grow really well in northern california-my backyard was full of them. Bouganvilla grows everywhere there, too. You might want to take a day trip to Golden Gate park for some plant ideas.

Hosta, you'll love it. My son was schooling in Ca, came home and can't wait to get back..he doesn't care much for plants, but he loves the climate.
I would love living somewhere warm..It's only 28F here tonight, and I can't take it. Fl or CA would be nice areas, but I'd be happy moving south, too. Heck, I'd be happy living in southern IL..LOL.
If you like houseplants, you'll find you can garden those plants instead of having to keep them cooped up all winter..Good luck, Toni

Marlene, I know how you feel. Last October my hubby and I retired to southwest Florida. I grew roses for 20+ years back in Wisconsin and now I feel like I'm starting all over again. But it is kinda fun to learn new things. Another plus is no more worry about winter protecion. ;-)

Marlene, you've going to love it. If you have to move to a new zone and be a 'newbie', it's going to be a helluva lot more easier to go to zone 9 from 5 than to do it like I did, which was the reverse. (Here I'm a total idiot and learning the hard way.)

You're going to have a much bigger selection of flowers/plants in that zone than where you're from. You will find that some plants that you considered 'annuals' aren't really over there because the fall/winter doesn't get cold enough to kill them.

You will find that certain plants that other parts of the US consider more 'exotic', arent' considered that there. Like here, if I want night blooming Jasmine, I have to buy a 40 dollar plant from a nursery and keep it indoors in the winter. There? I can get one for 7 bucks at Target or in the racks in front of Payless and it's a perennial. It will grow like a weed. If you do Bougenvilla, do it in a very bright exposure. If you plant it in the right place, it will be amazingly beautiful and will grow like a weed. If you do it and it takes off, buy yourself a chain saw. I'm not kidding. Those suckers have thorns and over time, the branches can get thick.

Walnut Creek has very hot summer periods. No humidity. No bugs. And not much (if any) rain. That part of the Bay Area (East Bay on the other side of the Oakland Hills) also is far more likely to be concerned with water usage. I've been out of the area for about a year and a half, so I don't know what the deal is right now, but I do know that you're given a basic allotment and if you exceed it, you will have one helluva water bill. So take it slowly with big planting for a few months until you find out what that bill is. At the very least, call and find out the parameters for your location so that you don't get surprises. Oftentimes, water usage for a certain year is based upon the previous year. So if the person that owned your house last year wasn't a big gardener, be extra skippy careful. Using mulch is not optional. It helps to keep the plants from being stressed from the heat and holds water. Containers in the summer will have to be hand watered daily. (Mulch them too.) And even if you have sprinklers, you might be doing that in other areas too.

There will be plants that require cold that you won't be able to grow. Peonies don't exist. Lilacs only bloom in certain microclimates. A good book to start with is Sunset's Western Garden Book. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0376038519/102-5973663-2617723?v=glance&n=283155

Winters are very different. You don't do things like blowing out your sprinklers. You don't say goodbye to your lawn mower. And depending upon the weather, you may have to water year around. You may see trees at the end of winter that drop most of their leaves just as the spring buds form. Spring comes much earlier. You'll be pruning roses at the end of January. Gardening is not something that you stop doing, you just slow down. Long rainy periods mean that you don't have to mow! LOL

You don't have big fungal problems with lawns over there, but you might trade that for things like rust on the roses during excessively rainy years. And during that time, plan on buying ant stakes. When the weather is really wet (and it hasn't been for awhile), the ants like to come inside. But compared to Japanese beetles and God knows what else the Midwest has, it's a breeze in comparison.

Btw, for entertainment purposes, if you're into produce, check out the Berkeley Bowl (a grocery store, obviously in Berkeley). Their meat is not fabulous, but damn, the produce section is to die for! Especially in spring. Andronico's is good too, but it's more expensive...

Have fun! I'll shut up now, I'm getting homesick. You're going to do fine!

Btw, be careful if you want to plant things like tomatoes...like don't go overboard with the number of plants. (Or you'd better like canning.)

My mother always let's me know when she picked the 'last tomato of the season. It's not uncommon for it to be something whacky like New Year's Day! LOL

Lucky lucky Marlene, wish I could go back home, actually I was raised on the peninsula but now I'de settle for anywhere in the Bay Area. By the way, smom40's advice on the Walnut Creek area is very acurate. Had to chuckle when she mentioned the ants coming inside, as a kid mom always told us not to eat in our rooms. But of course, we did! Couldn't figure out why ants were always in the room until they replaced the carpet and there was this huge colony of ants living under the carpet in the corner, with white eggs and everything! Our white walls turned black with ants, our mom nearly killed us with all the Raid she used.
The only thing that might be a bit unsettling at first is how dry it can be out there, especially if you come from a part of the midwest that is lush and green with lots of trees in spring and summer.
Been in the Chicago area for three years now and having good weather for 5-6 months of the year is just driving me bonkers, thought cabin fever was a myth.

So sorry to ramble on, missing home pretty bad. You'll love the warm climate and very interesting people.

Jimmy

hostarasta, my advice is go to the Sunset magazine website. Sunset is based in CA, and I take it here in Chicagoland just for fun, it's that good. Awesome articles and tips on western living!

Their website is really good, too. If you want a recipe, for example, you can even choose to have it print on an index card. They have taken care to think up their readers' needs. If you have a subscription, you can get all the issues online.

I spent the first 40 years of my life in warm climates with year-round good weather. Chicago has been very good to us jobwise, and the people are wonderful. But I gained 10 pounds a year for the first ten years, no joke.

I managed not to gain any more this past year, but I still wake up Arizona dreaming most days, where I can exercise outdoors at least sometime every day, even if it's at night. Congratulations.