Hi Basil, haven't seen you post in too long. Got any new pictures of the pond and the plantings?

You're right, most maps in books have most of NC as zone 7 with the wetlands and swampy river drainage areas as zone 8 but I can't put my hands upon a new map that has the new delineations for 7,8 and 9 with the a and b areas.
I'm sure if you google USDA plant hardiness zones you'll come across the ones with a and b and consider that we all have microclimates depending upon where we live.

Wilmington is zone 8, so I'd say from the southern border and up I40 a ways.
Kure Beach is kind of z9. The temps are similar, but last long than a typical zone 9 location.
Barb

dottie, this was not a good gardening year for me.
very big storms wash away lots of things in my park.
mess up my pond.

And I needed to do other things that keep me from working to fix the damage in my park. Also been going camping and hiking.

I took some picture of my deck garden in pots but can't find them (had to reload my computer).

I like how my deck garding is going but I need to get biger pots before next spring.

Hope to have some good pictures next year.

beachbarbie can you find map that puts Kure Beach as zone 9? Are there any good campground the zone 9 area?

Click on the map in the link to zoom in anywhere in NC to see the USDA a/b zone designations.

Here is a link that might be useful: Interactive Google Map of USDA hardiness zones in NC