About all I do is plant some winter flowering annuals like pansies and snapdragons, and alyssum. There's also some kale and cabbage out in the beds.

If I had myself pulled together I'd have lots more kale and cabbages and some lettuce as well.. :(

Vegetable or flower?? Or both???

I have a wintergarden every year. It is my best garden. I do have frost cloth that I use for the garden when the temps head for a hard frost. Many things will grow through it but are much happier with the frost cloth. I grow turnips, parsnips, radish, nasturtium, Siberian kale, several lettuces, Mizuna, chervil, cilantro , swiss chard, arugula,, beets, chinese cabbage, Tatsoi, Broccoli, cauliflower, Chinese greens, carrots, dill, Snow peas. If it hits 12 again, I will use 2 layers of frost cloth and have my straw mulch down thicker. My garden is smaller this year because of the continued drought.

Carrie- I was talking veggies.

Wantonamara- thanks! He wants to grow okra- doesn't that need more heat?

Melvalena? heh.. me too...

Yes, okra will grow and produce only when the sun is hot, but if he can wait, you could put in a summer crop of it.

All my friends have had such great luck with swiss chard (producing through the summer too) that I put some of that in too. I also like collards and mustard greens, so they're staples in my winter garden.

Lin

Living in the North-East zone 5 years back, our veggie garden were covered with snow in the winter. Nothing was growing in that garden except green onions. They stood firm and green above the snow all winter long.

I have some chinese tiny "leeks" that made it through the heat and the snow. They are indispensable to me. My onions are coming up from the ground and some of my big leaks are returning after they "died" from the lovely summer weather we had.

Cilantro grows in winter?!?! I've been wanting to grow cilantro, but was waiting till spring to look into it. I better get busy!!!

I have some growing now and it was not effected by the cold front that we had. I just planted a new batch of them yesterday. I throw a frost cloth over them during hard frosts, but they are tough.

I have salad burnet, swiss chard, and sweet violets (maybe missouri violets?). They make good salad greens all year long. Also french sorrel grows well.

Good luck picking out and planting your fruit trees. What kinds are you interested in?