Don't know of any books that will specifically help you, but once you get up here I suggest you pick up a copy of The Michigan Gardener. Its a monthly periodical that's available for free at most garden centers. Gives a lot of timely advice for the gardener. Downtown Home and Garden in Ann Arbor will have copies for sure, plus they seem to have a pretty knowledgable staff.

Welcome to Michigan - you will love it here. You will need a snow shovel! Gardening in MI is fun and sometimes a challenge - you will thrive here I am sure. Pack your winter woolies and join in the fun!
Cheers, Rita in Kalamazoo

HI new neighbor. If you will be on the southern fringe of Ann Arbor, you might be near Saline. There is a wonderful garden club called the Saline Stone & Thistle Garden Club. We meet at the UAW Hall on Woodland drive the 3rd Monday of the month (not December). There are 3 books out for MI: one on trees & shrubs,one for perennials and one for roses. All by Lone Pine Publishing in paperback for about $20 each--and we have them in our Club library. please contact me and I'll send you our club flyer. We have a spring plant sale with lots of choices too. The gals are alot of fun and very helpful. Welcome.

G'day Lyn,

In my humble abode in southcentral A^2, I have two regional gardening books close at hand: Michigan Gardener's Guide by Bolund, Coit, and Hair, and Tree & Shrub Gardening for Michigan by Wood and Beck. Although it may feel like it to you, Ann Arbor is not that cold by Michigan standards. A natural resources professional once told me that Washtenaw is the least snowy county in the state. Still, you will learn to pay attention to the hardiness zone ratings of the plants that interest you! Welcome.

A.J.

Welcome to AA!
Feel free to email when you get settled. My neighborhood association usually hosts two plant exchanges each year. We'd love to have you!

Susan (baskett1@hotmail.com)

Thanks for the warm welcome. Hopefully I'll catch up with some of you in the months after we arrive.
Lyn

I also like the Lone Pine, "____ for Michigan" books. I have Annuals, Perennials, Roses and Trees& Shrubs. They are all loaded w/ good color picts. Once you get here make a stop by Borders (in Arborland) they have a local interest section w/ lots of gardening books for whatever areas you enjoy. Oh and next spring/summer/fall be sure to check out the Farmers Market, it's in Kerry Town downtown Ann Arbor Wed and Sat.

Here's a good site for you

Here is a link that might be useful: Native Plant Nursery

I have lived in Ann Arbor for 40+ years and gardened here for 25. This is a great city to live in (if you have to live anywhere in the upper midwest...), great place to raise a family, a place you can go to a world class concert or a fine restaurant in shorts and a t shirt and no one will give you a second look (because they are too!). It can be a wonderful place to make a garden too, though it will be a MAJOR adjustment moving from zone 8b to 5b (maybe 6a depending on where you are).

Let's face it, the winters are way too long, can be quite snowy or hardly any, but usually start at least in sputters by late November and last most years through March, even into April sometimes. Springs are much shorter and more intense/compressed than the south, all the plants you are used to from February through April often come in a big rush from late April into early May. You will come to really appreciate spring as you never did in the south, because you earned it and waited so long for it. But the rush of a northern spring IS incredible, with bulbs and lilacs that may not grow or bloom as well as in the north.

Summers will be vastly more pleasant than in the south. We can have hot weather in the 90s, but not in the long protracted way that occurs in the south. Summer seems all too short but it is also an intense period in the garden, with continuous bloom in the garden. Fall is a wonderful season, often with cool pleasant weather. It will seem shorter and earlier than in the south too, but not as compressed as spring, and can last into December in some years. I have found fall is neglected by lots of gardeners, who think only mums, and don't realize the great array of fall blooming plants that thrive here.

You are moving to an area with one of the best arrays of nurseries anywhere in the US. Recipe Gardens at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market, Saguaro plants (great display gardens), Gee Farms for woody plants, Arrowhead Alpines for 1000s of plants, lots of rarities, Telly's in Troy, and others. These will be tremendous resources, and lots of gardeners in other areas would give their eye teeth for this selection.

Most of the soil in and around Ann Arbor is alkaline clay that will require an adaptation if you are used to acid soil. Raised beds do the trick. Some areas have sandy soil or even good loam, but the neutral to alkaline clay is more common.

I am lucky enough to have built a greenhouse/conservatory, and now winter is far more bearable. I even grow the camellias you take for granted in SC.

The books will help, but I think the local nurseries, other gardeners, and forums like this are even more worthwhile. Welcome, this is a great place to call home (especially when you take a vacation in early March to SC! ;o))

If you haven't locked in your new address, I suggest you look at the USDA map first.

Right along the Lake and especially in the 'thumb' of Michigan it's toasty warm by comparison to the rest of the state.

6a or even warmer... and on the East Coast you won't get buried in Lake Effect snow like on the West Coast of Michigan.

I've studied the Zone Map and burned with jealousy. A hundred miles north of me, and STILL the people in the 'thumb' area get mild weather.

It's not FAIR !

I'll join the others in welcoming you. Like the other David posted above, this is a great area. I live northwest of Ann Arbor a bit - between Arrowhead Alpines and Gee Farms mentioned in his post, and can readily concur with all of his suggestions. The Ann Arbor market in general and Kathy at Recipe Gardens in particular are great. The zone 6 thumb may sound appealing, but it is offset by the overall Ann Arbor cultural draw. I live in nice rural Livingston County with a half hour drive to just about anywhere I may want to go, just about perfect.

I'm from Northern Michigan - a 4 hour drive from Ann Arbor - but I encourage you to visit beautiful Traverse City, Charlevoix, Petoskey & Harbor Springs - the Northwest section of Michigan's Lower Peninsula along Lake Michigan it truly breathtaking - especially in the summer and fall. I mention Lower Peninsula, because we also have a lovely 'other part' of Michigan - the U.P. (upper peninsula), where you'll find beautiful woodlands, lakes and waterfalls. Welcome to Michigan. There's so much to see and do.

Yes indeed, there are many, many beautiful places to visit in Michigan -- miles of unspoiled lakeshore in the northern part of the state (though decreasing due to increasing development), beautiful vistas of the upper great lakes (you won't believe they aren't oceans), lots of beautiful unspoiled woodlands, etc. And yes it is true, if you live closer to one of the Great Lakes shores, you will gain half a zone of hardiness over the areas farther inland. However, even for me as a passionate gardener who would love to grow more tender plants, I wouldn't want to move to the rural thumb region just to get that extra half zone, for me Ann Arbor is still a more desirable place to live. Zone 5b, 6a, it doesn't really matter that much, winter is still winter. And if you aren't a snow fan (I'm not), Ann Arbor gets considerably less snow than most other parts of the state. Chances are you are moving to the Ann Arbor area for job or educational reasons, so living in a rural area of MI is less likely an option anyway. There are good and bad sides to living here, too bad you aren't first arriving in early May instead of November.

But remember, May will come...

Hmmm, Ann Arbor.....Good choice, I've gotta say. Welcome to Michigan!!!!

Welcome to a wonderful state! I've lived in Michigan all my life and have no desire to live anywhere else.

I've lived in Bay City, (near the Thumb)Ann Arbor and for the last 23 years in the Metro Detroit area. It is a wonderful place to garden like the others have said.

One way to look at our colder, longer winters (and compared to say Minnesotta or the Upper Penninsula ours aren't bad) is that we don't have things like fire ants and kudzu! We only one have venemous snake, and it's small and secretive. No naturally occuring dangerous spiders. Our cold weather knocks back most bugs to manageable levels.

Michigan is a wonderful state, I hope you enjoy yourself here.

Ilived in Michigan until I was 24 when I moved to Texas. After 13 years, I'm moving back to Mi in June 2004!!!! I will have to learn to garden all over! Here in south Texas I can garden 10 months out of the year. I am looking forward to the challenge.

Dana

We've been here for around 2 weeks now and I have one thing to say - BBBRRRRR. I'm told its not very cold yet but coming from Tshirts to snow was a bit of a shock. My kids both came out in shorts for their first day at school! I still have to force them to wear a coat and the minute they come through the door in the afternoon they start stripping! Not much opportunity to closely inspect the garden until I deal with box and paper city on the inside. I do notice a patch of mint in a garden bed. Is this a thug up here as much as it was in warmer climates? Thanks for all the helpful info. I have put the books on my Xmas list.

Yes, mint is a thug--everywhere. The upside to your new location is that you're not far from Great Lakes Roses, a wonderful and informative nursery. Just google their name.

Welcome and Holiday Greetings,
I'm one of your neighbors on the north side of town. I notice you've got yourself listed as zone 6. I'm no expert but I'm quite sure we're in zone 5. My experience here is that plants rated for zone 6 will survive but not thrive unless protected.
Good luck dealing with this cold! Wish I was in SC! Maybe I can retire there. Any good areas you know of that I might check out? Again welcome to the Winter Water Wonderland.

Me again--I just read further down the page the discussion about Chicago being zone 6. Which then took me to the Hardiness zone map by arborday.org. Guess there have been some changes to the maps. So sorry. I stand corrected. But my experience still stands. Plants for zone 6 need protection here in AA2 MI.

Sumac,I agree-I live near AA, but in a windy, treeless open field. So while My SIL in Hazel park (east of us in a city) can grow things from zone 7, I stuck with plants from zone 4. So please check your advertised zone and then know your yard before you spend $$$ on unique plants.

AussieLyn welcome and Merry Christmas. Hope the snow storm isn't making you regret the move. I agree with the others notes about zone. I have a range of zones in my small yard. I think they call that microclimate- anywho winter is a good time to see which areas get a lot of wind and where snow gets dumped. Plants rated zone 7 will survive if I have deep snow over them all winter but will be dead dead dead otherwise. You also have to think about salt exposure and in my case which areas will be gouged by the community snow plow.
Someone else mentioned Great Lakes Roses, I like them too. Their web site is www.greatlakesroses.com
Nancy is very informative and hosts good workshops.

Lyn,

I found the Michigan Gardener's Guide at TSC [tractor supply
center]. New to landscaping and gardening. I find it rather
helpful. Oh, very informative.

Hi Lynn - well you have been here for a while now - how are things going over there in Ann Arbor? Unpacked yet? We are going to have a perennial plant swap and pot luck in Byron Center (just south of Grand Rapids) on 21 May - check your calendar and see if you are able to come - it will be good to finally meet you. Just think - it is late summer DownUnder!!! aaaaah!

Enjoy the last of winter and don't forget to hit the sales to get winter jackets, boots, mittens and scarves for the family - sure beats buying them full price next fall!

Hope to hear from you and to see you in May.
Cheers - Kiwi in Kalamazoo