Of course, your season is going to be shorter than you used to have in Pensacola, so you'll want more bang for your buck, right? Winter sowing annuals or purchasing annuals is a good bet for nectar plants, like annual salvias, annual daisies, annual verbenas, sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, etc., that bloom quick and for a long time. Perennials that go in this year, may not do much until next year, or even the year after. I'd try some lavendar in a good size pot. It will grow quickly and flower quickly, and the butts love it. Dill would be a great host plant in your cooler summer conditions. It doesn't like it here for very long. Rue is hardy there, too, and if you buy nice plants now, they'll grow and be hosting BSTs and GSTs fast (do you get GSTs up there?). I'd also see if you could purchase some tropical milkweed in pots for the Monarchs. Our FAQs has good info on both nectar and host plants. We have a lot of other folks who garden in similar conditions living in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and other northern states who can help you out, too. I'm kinda in the middle between north and south. BTW, welcome to the forum!! Susan

If you're willing to travel a bit, downtown Detroit's Eastern Market has a lot of tree/shrub variety, at prices a good deal lower than the standard nursery. Open every Saturday from 7am til afternoon (later in the day yields better prices, but less variety). If price is not a deterrent, any Bordine's location (4 in the SE MI area -- maybe one by you?) offers a LOT of larger trees (all kinds!). They are a bit on the spendier side, but have an extremely knowledgable staff and lots to choose from. You can check them out on the web at: www.bordine.com.

Ingrid, yes, we are running ahead of our normal schedule here. Forsythias are long finished now too, and Narcissus and hyacinths have faded. Even lilacs are blooming! Morel mushroom season is also in full swing. Goodness, even one of my bearded irises is sending up their stems to bloom on I'm really looking forward to the return of my roses. I think Winchester Cathedral may give me blooms before the end of May at its current rate of development. Therese Bugnet is just behind with tiny buds still ensconced within folded foliage. We often still have snow in March with a few hard frosts and the occasional snow in April. The winter of 2013-2014 which brought record snow and cold, yielded an April through which nothing was even really greening up until May. Thank you, smithdale. I am certainly surprised that some of my plants are ahead of yours there in the PNW! It's been an unusually mild winter here, but with swings from 40 to 20, and back repeatedly murdered my more tender modern roses. However, by the same token, those pansies have bloomed off and on throughout my winter. Never in all my years living here in Michigan would have I thought it plausible to have blooms outdoors in my garden for over twelve consecutive months. I may never have that again! Steven

It is certainly possible to grow flowering plants below a canopy of tall pine trees, though your cold climate will limit your choices. Here is a picture of my next door neighbor's stand of pines, which are not high but are also not very dense: Lots of native flora under there. His trees look like crap, though, which brings me to the second point. You don't want create too much competition for resources or the pine trees will suffer. Looking at your satellite photo, I suspect there are areas where there is room for shrubs and perennials, and areas where there is not enough space between the trees. Another good resource for you to research plants is the Monrovia plant catalog, which can filter plant choices for climate zone and light needs and lots of other things like deer resistance and even bloom color(look for "advance filters" at the bottom of the page). Monrovia's zone parameters are often too optimistic though, so check your choices with other sites like the Missouri Plant Finder to be sure they are cold hardy.