Remembering that I'm fresh from Canada, you'll understand my complete and utter amazement that I found myself and our children out on the patio in light spring coats having lunch and enjoying the sunshine today! Unheard of! We have shovelled the snow off of the deck and had picnics in late March, but never in February! Our home school schedule was a bit unbalanced today - 4 hours of recess! We couldn't resist!

Also - I found myself weeding - creeping charlie and lots of it! My snow drops are up 3 inches and there are many signs of life in the garden. Did I mention that when everyone else was putting up Christmas Decorations in December I was planting bulbs - 650 to be exact - everything I could find! I'm told our squirrel population may do a bit of garden re-decorating for me, but perhaps planting so late fooled them - the wee bit of snow we had came the week after I got my last package in, so perhaps they had all their winter stores by then.

Eager for spring in Ohio!
Heather

Have you been over to the Winter Sowing forum? Great way to have loads of plants for very little cost. This is just my first year, so I can't speak to my own successes but I have seen the results. Bakemom's garden is chock full of super-hardy winter sown stuff and I can vouch that those plants are made of some pretty strong stuff!

If you haven't been yet, come on over and introduce yourself!

I moved to Columbus from Texas last year and was amazed at the plants I could grow here. The season's short but the variety of possibilities is fantastic!
Gina

Welcome to Ohio! The soil around here can be very clay-like. I add gypsum and compost every year to break it down, but there are lots of plants that do well in clay soils. Day lillies come to mind. They're low maintenance and will multiply quickly. Impatians and hosta also do very well in the shade.

In the spring, a lot of stores turn into mini nurseries. Lowes, Walmart, Home Depot, Meijer - all sell a varity of plants at a reasonable cost.

I'm from south Dayton, so I don't know the names of nurseries near Troy. Knollwood in Beavercreek has a wide variety of plants, shrubs and trees. They take very good care of their plants and most of their staff are knowledgeable about what grows well in your area.

If you don't mind a drive, take 48 south, about five miles past Centerville. There are a number of nurseries within about ten miles of each other. Grandma's Garden, Windmill Farms and a few others whose names I can't recall. They're a bit pricy, but they carry a wide selection of plants that you don't normally see in other stores.

If you are driving south of town you might stop and check out Siebenthaler's Garden Center in Centerville....or their store in Beavercreek to the east. Lots of different material and the full time staff is real helpful if you've got questions.

You'll love it around here....spring teases us a bit, but it's not far away now!

I was checking out the garden just before today's snow and found my helleborus blooming...that's always a good sign!

Being from Troy, you are just a stone's throw from Springhill Nursery in Tipp City.

Hi there! Welcome to Ohio. I moved here from a zone 7 (Virginia) last year and found things equally perplexing. The first place I went was to Springhill Nursery in Tipp City. I've ordered from them for years but this was the first time I got to visit in person. Also, as previous posters suggested, Siebenthaler is great, as is Knollwood. I live in Beavercreek just east of Dayton and have made it a mission to visit most of the area garden shops. Last year I bought a house with NO landscaping at all and spent a ton of money at both Siebenthaler and Knowllwood and can't be happier. I purchased nine trees and several bushes from Siebenthaler and they have been excellent. I go to Knollwood for most annuals and perrenials.

While you can get some good deals at the big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes, WalMart) they don't have a lot of knowledge. Often plants are labeled as perrenials when, in fact, they are annuals here in Ohio. However, the prices on common things like petunias and marigolds are great.

Good Luck!
-Lisa

Check out the thread I started a while ago....Maybe we'll have to have a Troy subdivision of Gardenweb! Love to meet you....email me and tell me where you are.