Canadian Gardening: what parts of canada are most like growing zone 7 in U.S.?, 1 by PhilsFlowers

PhilsFlowers wrote:
Robert, you might consider Surrey in B.C. It is about 50 km south of Vancouver near the border with the state of Washington in the U.S. Our zone is 6B on one map and 7 on the other so we are pretty close to your zone for gardening. I am attaching a picture of the flower bed in front of our house so you will have some idea of our spring plants. In winter we have the hellebores and winter jasmine and in mid-February the early snow crocuses begin to bloom then the snowdrops and so on until the last late tulips before the perennials begin. We have 5 rhododendrons along the east side of our house so they will have the morning sun. I understand that people in Washington, D.C. love the beautiful Japanese cherry trees. We have various varieties of these beautiful trees on the different streets in my area of Surrey. We also enjoy people who have never seen it before taking pictures of the petals after a wind storm when these petals lay covering the ground like a blanket of snow.

Surrey has a large East Indian community and there are various temples too. As for discrimination, of course there is some, there is discrimination everywhere and I would honestly say that I think we have less than most places. It seems the incidents we do have are blown out of proportion by the media, especially if there isn't much else in the way of news. If you move in among a group of Christian Fundamentalists you will find that you are discriminated against but probably not as in-your-face as you are used to. We have laws here that protect people from discrimination and hate crimes. There are even groups that will help you sue the pants off whomsoever did the dasterdly deed.

Prices for homes in Surrey are high in some areas and reasonable in others. I have no idea what homes go for in Washington. The Surrey Real Estate Board publishes a monthly newspaper which lists homes in the various areas of Surrey, I can't think of even one company now because we moved here years ago and have no plan of selling our home but you can probably find one on the internet. E-mail them and ask for a copy of their latest paper and you can compare prices, figure out which of the many areas you would like to (and can afford to) live in. Even if you love one area but most homes begin at $1 million, there are always homes that are not as grand in the area that are cheaper.

Wherever you decide to live I wish you both much happiness and happy gardening!

Phil