Winter: 30's to 40's, down to single digits on isolated occasions, very rainy, a little snow; not conducive to outdoor gardening, and not enough sun for greenhouse gardening. Roses will open the occasional bud into December, but don't expect a big show. If you love Colorado sunshine and crisp winter weather, Oregon winters will get you down.

Spring: a long, wet Spring, with temps gradually warming to the 50's and 60's in April and May. Plants that bloom at the same time in a continental climate will bloom at different times all through this season. Still not conducive to working in the soil, but pruning and weeding are not too uncomfortable.

Summer: 50's at night, 70's to 80's during the day. Lots of sunshine starting in mid-June, much more than in Portland, which tends to be cloudy. Occasionally up to 100+. Almost no rain from July to mid-September. Sunny and warm to mid-September, then watch for rain again. Not enough heat to ripen watermelons; corn and tomatoes are ready late August to early September.

Fall: gradually cooling from mid-September to mid-November, getting more and more rainy. Very little leaf color compared to east coast.

Don't buy near the big industrial complexes, and ask about paper mills and heavy metals processing.

Ellen, I moved to Albany Oregon this Winter & find that planting cold weather crops (lettuce,spinich & peas etc) in late March or early April is standard and there are so MANY LUSH retail nurseries/greenhouses here, all full of flowering clematis, healthy bananas, 3 ft tall hostas and hummingbirds. There IS a Winter here (cold rain mostly) but is only 4 months long. Last killing frost was in March.

What you CAN'T do here is keep tropicals outside Sept through March because of the freezes, but cannas can do just fine. I think its paradise! marea