I live and garden in central North Carolina, in the Southeastern United States, near the city of Raleigh. My house and garden sit on a lot of approximately 4 acres, but most of the land is covered with native forest and not cultivated. The land is rolling with deep ravines and steep bluffs overlooking a boulder lined creek to the north. In some places the base of the bluff comes right up to the creek bank and in others there is a broad floodplain where lots of native ferns and wildflowers grow. The upland areas around the house consist of a mature forest of mostly American beech, white oak, and hickory. The house and garden are in a small clearing in the middle of the forest.
The soil varies, but most of it is heavy, acid, rich, red clay with some humus provided by the abundance of fallen leaves from the forest. Summers are hot and humid with average highs of about 88 °F (31 °C) and lows of 68 °F (20 °C). Winters are cool with some snow, average highs about 50 °F (10 °C) and average lows about 32 °F (0 °C). Average minimum winter low is around 5 °F (-15 °C), which corresponds to USDA Zone 7b, but cold spells are usually short lived. Annual rainfall is approximately 50 inches (127 cm) and is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year.
Gardening interests are wide, but my current interests are showy plants native to the Southeastern United States and members of the Amaryllidaceae family that will grow in the open garden here, mostly Crinum, Crinum Hybrids, Zephyranthes, Zephyranthes Hybrids, Habranthus, xAmarcrinum, Hymenocallis, Leucojum, Galanthus, Lycoris, Rhodophiala, Sternbergia, and Narcissus. I also cultivate showy members of the Zingiberaceae family, such as Hedychium and Curcuma.
You are welcome to contact me at jay.yourch at gmail.com.