Yes. Mid Atlantic means states that are too far north to be considered southern, and too far south to be considered northern. It doesn't have anything to do with proximity to the coast.

Are you sure you are in zone 7b? I thought the only parts of MD in that zone were on the coast.

I'm in Carroll County - zone 6B. I am certainly not an expert but I think 7a is south and east of Baltimore and most of the Eastern Shore.

You may be looking at the Arbor Day map, which is rather different, but I believe the USDA is the one to follow.

Here is a link that might be useful: USDA map

But to be sure that you belong, you need to come to this Saturday's seed swap to make sure you are loony enough for this forum...

You're right. I'm 7a. I changed my profile to reflect that.

Anne, I'd love to but I don't have seed (I'm wintersewing all of mine, I want to get rid of it all) and I'm going to VA this weekend. But I'd say that I'm pretty loony. I'm driving an hour away just to pick up some hermit crabs that are being rehomed to me. Now that's loony!

Uh - you might want to ignore some of my suggestions in your other post, in light of your "change of zone" - I don't think the gardenia or that particular Camellia are a good option in 7A, although there are lots of hardier Camellias that could be easily substituted (most of their names start with "Winter's...", and G. 'Chuck Hayes' should be somewhat hardy for you. It grows taller than radicans, but is easily pruned after blooming to maintain any size you want. I've also found Gardenias to be remarkably shade tolerant around here, which was a big surprise.