Shelley, I think for most of us there are no complete solutions... yet. I have read and enjoyed the books you mentioned, and I do try to eat locally. It is, as you, and I here in New England, and others have discovered, pretty darn hard, lol. Do you have an organic store near you? The one near me has some local produce. Obviously, it's not all local, but there is some. Personally, I rationalize with myself. I buy beef from a local farm through a CSA. My chicken and pork come from an organic store which sources from local farms. I work at another local organic farm in the summer, and grow lots of my own vegetables. What I don't grow, I buy during the season from local farms (either the one I work at or the vendors at the markets I sell at). I freeze tomatoes, corn, and beans for the winter. I may attempt canning next year. I also this year started experimenting with cold frames, and tried lettuces, spinach, other greens and carrots. I'm not doing nearly well enough to call it a success this year, but it's a start. So, with all that, I allow myself to buy fresh produce at the supermarket during the winter. I do try to find some somewhat local stuff (for example the salad mix I buy is from Mass., and I'm in CT) but since I do so much the rest of the year, I don't make myself feel guilty about buying bananas or oranges. And when you say you rely on canned and frozen vegetables, do you mean YOUR canned and frozen, or commercially? Because really, the canned or frozen vegetables we buy are no more local than the fresh produce we buy in the store this time of year. I keep telling myself that it will get easier. I think there is a growing market for local items, and hope that more farms (with greenhouses in the colder areas, obviously) will grow throughout the year and offer their produce. I also hope to grow more of my own stuff, and more importantly, I'm trying to expand my admittedly very limited palate to include some of the winter vegetables that grow here in New England (squashes/gourds in particular). I'm not a very adventurous eater, and I'm trying to change that. But I don't think I will ever give up chocolate, tea, oranges, bananas, sugar, etc. I do the best I can in other areas and allow myself those items. Hoping some others have some good ideas to share here! :) Dee

Get out to Rockford to see Anderson Japanese Garden before they close at the end of Oct. You are welcome to come to Chicago Botanic Garden year-round, the Japanese garden is especially beautiful in winter. Of course, this year, we have a major construction project going on - you just have to ignore the chain link fences and imagine the lake filled with water. Also, the library at CBG has an excellent Japanese Garden section. Call ahead to make sure it is accessible - during the reconstruction of the building it is being moved around a bit. K. Berry

Marlene, you've going to love it. If you have to move to a new zone and be a 'newbie', it's going to be a helluva lot more easier to go to zone 9 from 5 than to do it like I did, which was the reverse. (Here I'm a total idiot and learning the hard way.) You're going to have a much bigger selection of flowers/plants in that zone than where you're from. You will find that some plants that you considered 'annuals' aren't really over there because the fall/winter doesn't get cold enough to kill them. You will find that certain plants that other parts of the US consider more 'exotic', arent' considered that there. Like here, if I want night blooming Jasmine, I have to buy a 40 dollar plant from a nursery and keep it indoors in the winter. There? I can get one for 7 bucks at Target or in the racks in front of Payless and it's a perennial. It will grow like a weed. If you do Bougenvilla, do it in a very bright exposure. If you plant it in the right place, it will be amazingly beautiful and will grow like a weed. If you do it and it takes off, buy yourself a chain saw. I'm not kidding. Those suckers have thorns and over time, the branches can get thick. Walnut Creek has very hot summer periods. No humidity. No bugs. And not much (if any) rain. That part of the Bay Area (East Bay on the other side of the Oakland Hills) also is far more likely to be concerned with water usage. I've been out of the area for about a year and a half, so I don't know what the deal is right now, but I do know that you're given a basic allotment and if you exceed it, you will have one helluva water bill. So take it slowly with big planting for a few months until you find out what that bill is. At the very least, call and find out the parameters for your location so that you don't get surprises. Oftentimes, water usage for a certain year is based upon the previous year. So if the person that owned your house last year wasn't a big gardener, be extra skippy careful. Using mulch is not optional. It helps to keep the plants from being stressed from the heat and holds water. Containers in the summer will have to be hand watered daily. (Mulch them too.) And even if you have sprinklers, you might be doing that in other areas too. There will be plants that require cold that you won't be able to grow. Peonies don't exist. Lilacs only bloom in certain microclimates. A good book to start with is Sunset's Western Garden Book. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0376038519/102-5973663-2617723?v=glance&n=283155 Winters are very different. You don't do things like blowing out your sprinklers. You don't say goodbye to your lawn mower. And depending upon the weather, you may have to water year around. You may see trees at the end of winter that drop most of their leaves just as the spring buds form. Spring comes much earlier. You'll be pruning roses at the end of January. Gardening is not something that you stop doing, you just slow down. Long rainy periods mean that you don't have to mow! LOL You don't have big fungal problems with lawns over there, but you might trade that for things like rust on the roses during excessively rainy years. And during that time, plan on buying ant stakes. When the weather is really wet (and it hasn't been for awhile), the ants like to come inside. But compared to Japanese beetles and God knows what else the Midwest has, it's a breeze in comparison. Btw, for entertainment purposes, if you're into produce, check out the Berkeley Bowl (a grocery store, obviously in Berkeley). Their meat is not fabulous, but damn, the produce section is to die for! Especially in spring. Andronico's is good too, but it's more expensive... Have fun! I'll shut up now, I'm getting homesick. You're going to do fine!

Hi Don_r, It might help if you posted just where you are in the Midwest. According to Wikipedia, the Midwest covers quite a large area. You might want to also put your state abbreviation in the zone box in your Member Page profile, (see I am zone 5/6 S IN). That way it will show on your Member Page and automatically be shown when you post to a thread. There is a link in the green banner at the bottom of any page ( Member Pages) for updating your info. Sue