The "z" is just for "zone" - perhaps not truly necessary, but..., it does let you know what the number is designating. It's hard to figure out which zone really fits anywhere in recent years - there's a new USDA map (in the last year or so) which puts most of SC in zone 8. I'm not sure I believe that one, but in 5 years or so, it MAY be true. What the zones do is to try to say what will be the lowest temperature for the winter. The USDA calls it a plant hardiness map, and assumes that plants will survive temperatures within, or down to, a certain low temperature. So zone 8 is for a winter low of 10 to 20 degrees, with the a and b designations breaking that down to a 5 degree range, so 8b is 15-20F and 8a is 10-15F. It might be more helpful to look at the AHS (American Horticultural Society) Heat-Zone Map, which tells the average number of days there are that are over 86 F, since many plants can handle the winter just fine but die off in the heat and humidity of the summer. Looking at that, I make it that you are in heat-zone 8, with 90 to 120 days in an average year being that warm. However, between global warming and the idiosyncracies of micro-climates, as Adele mentioned, all it means is that you can use the zones, whether hardiness or heat, as a ball-park guesstimate of what will grow for you or not, and how warm or cold it MIGHT be. I am in northwestern SC, almost at the NC line, Spartanburg County - I usually get several light frosts by the end of Oct., when I get a killing frost. My SIL's mother lives about 5 mi. directly west of me, toward the mountains; she gets her first frost when I get a killing frost, most years. But, we are both in zone 7b. I hope this helps, and doesn't leave you feeling more confused!

As I understand it: Shorthand: 'b' means the warmer half of a zone, 'a' the colder half of the next warmer one. Clear as mud? Example: I was in 4b for several years, but with global warming or whatever, this part of New Hampshire is now 5a, about 5 degrees F warmer in winter. Creeping thyme, Thymus serphyllum? There are varieties which overwinter well here, you should have a wide choice Lorna.

Good for you svarga... I too let my lawn grow uncontrolled in the back yard. However I do remove invasive weeds like garlic mustard and noxious weeds like rag weed. I do mow the front yard though, out of consideration for my neighbors. I am slowly converting the front yard from lawn to woodland understory plants (as I have a very shady yard with several mature oak trees). I have large mulched ares that are being slowly filled in with plugs of wild plants. Each years the mulch area gets a bit bigger and the plants will hopefully start to fill in better too. And you don't have to get zoning changed to let your lawn grow. (You may have to get HOA covenants changed.) But government laws can only regulate vegetation based on invasiveness or noxious weeds. The courts have ruled that laws regulating vegetation strictly on basis of height are a violation of constitutional property rights. Grow it, Don't mow it.

One problem with making this decision is that your needs change as your family grows - both in number and in years. For example my sister in law put an island in her new kitchen instead of a table when her kids were small. The twins were constantly falling off the tall stools,and she really liked the idea of gathering around a table for family dinner so she ripped out the island, and bought a table. That was several years ago. Now she is missing the workspace (and her prep sink, which went away with the island) and, regrettably, there are fewer opportunities for family dinners with older kids rushing off to sports and other evening activities. We are fortunate enough to have room for a peninsula with seating as well as a table. But it does seem somewhat redundant. Especially as we also have a dining room with table (which I'm certain will never get used except holidays.) However, we are a family of 6, so we could never fit entirely around a peninsula or island. I do think kitchen tables are underutilized especially when entertaining - everyone crowds in the kitchen and some perch themselves on a peninsula barstool, but who goes and sits at the kitchen table? I think it's because it is so low compared to the rest of the counters. A friend of mine bought a counter-height kitchen table and tall chairs to try and include the table area more in the overall kitchen scheme. I thought about that but I found a traditional round kitchen table that I really love so I am going with that.