According to Ruah Donnelly, author of The Adventurous Gardener: Where to Buy the Best Plants in New York and New Jersey, one of the first steps when planning a garden is considering the local conditions.

Local Conditions

“In the Adirondacks this is especially important,” says Donnelly, “because there are very sharp differences between the kind of gardening you can do on a lake and the kind of gardening you can do up on a mountain.” She also says that you need to consider factors, such as amount of water, shade, and sunlight in the area where you plan to have your garden. Plants that tend to do well in the Adirondacks are purple cone flowers, black-eyed Susan's, and Hydrangeas.

Only then can you match the plants that you want to grow with the conditions. Donnelly explains that plants occupy varying habitats, or groups of conditions, that make for a certain type of planting. For example, by the side of a lake, soil is often sandy and moist. The area is also protected from the wind and a little warmer than normal.

“There are a number of plants that would do especially well there that would never consent to grow up on a rocky mountain with exposure,” says Donnelly. An alpine plant is adapted to the lean, tough conditions on a mountain. “If you tried to plant it down near a lake, it would die.”

Deer Resistance

Janet Loughrey, author of Gardens: Adirondack Style, agrees that people need to choose plants that will do well in their local conditions but also believes that it is important to choose ones that are resistant to other problems, such as deer.

“Deer will eat almost anything.”

According to Greg Greene, a garden designer at Wild Ginger Designs in Queensbury, New York, deer are a problem for gardeners not only in the Adirondacks, but also across the Northeast. Greene believes that the only way to ensure that deer will not eat your plants is to put a 7 to 8 foot fence around your property. However, many remedies exist for deer trouble–from spraying chemicals to scattering human hair around your property. A human scent supposedly deters deer.

“Deer will eat almost anything,” says Greene. “The main thing is that you can't plant things that deer really enjoy eating, like day lilies and hostas.”

There are plants that you can grow that deer will usually not eat. Two examples of deer resistant plants native to the Adirondacks are wild geraniums and wild ginger.

Soil Type

Deer and climate variation aren't the only challenges when planning a garden. Ecologist Drew Monthie advises people to determine the soil type on their land.

David Campbell, the horticulturist at Schroon Falls Farm, explains that soil in the Adirondacks is generally more acidic, and usually not very rich. The quality of the soil is generally better in the valleys and lowlands. However, if you do have poor, rocky soil the best thing to do is grow plants that are adapted to the soil. Juniper, an evergreen shrub, and mountain laurel, a deciduous shrub, both do well in dry, rocky soil.

With any soil type, the better the preparation, the better the plants will do. According to Greene, soil preparation entails adding compost, organic fertilizer, and manure. Preparing soil in this way before planting adds nutrients and helps the soil hold moisture.

Adirondack Climate

Besides soil quality, the Adirondack's cold climate is another factor in determining which plants will be appropriate for your garden. The cold weather, however, is not always a limiting factor. “Some plants like the cooler climate,” says Campbell. “We can grow things up here that they couldn't necessarily grow in New Jersey or Connecticut because it's too warm down there during the summer.”

A disadvantage of the colder climate would be the shortened growing season. According to Monthie, May and June are the months to start planting vegetables. Trees, shrubs, and perennials can usually be planted as soon as the ground thaws, because they are hardy plants.

The growing season ends when frost covers the ground during the night. This can be as early as August or September in parts of the Adirondacks.

Invasive and Native Plants

Campbell explains that an advantage to the Adirondack climate is the minimal number of invasive plants. “Your garden is not going to be taken over with vines or anything like that because they don't make it up here," he states.

Invasive plants, explains Monthie, produce lots of seeds and usually have longer growing seasons than native plants. Invasive plants spread easily on their own and can take over a garden. An example of an invasive plant found in the Adirondacks is purple loosestrife, which is native to Eurasia and can now be found in every state except Florida.

Native plants are particularly successful in gardens because they are already adapted to the climate. In the words of Greene, you don't have to “coddle” native plants like you do with others. Examples of plants native to the Adirondacks are witch hazel, winterberry holly, and summersweet clethra.

No matter what type of plant you grow, plan you garden according to your local conditions. Paying attention to these aspects when choosing plants will help ensure that your gardening experience is a rewarding one.

Buying Plants

According to Ruah Donnelly, author of The Adventurous Gardener: Where to buy the best plants in New York and New Jersey, there are steps that every gardener needs to take when purchasing plants. Gardeners should:

•  Buy from a nursery that grows its own plants since they are usually healthier.

• Seek a nursery with a knowledgeable owner who can give you advice about the plants you are buying.

•  Buy a plant because you love the way it looks and want to have it your garden.

Gardeners should not:

× Buy a plant that is dead or dying – even if it is a bargain.

× Buy a tree that has overgrown its pot.

× Buy invasive plants that will take over their garden, such as Japanese barberry, purple loosestrife, and burning bush.

Plant Hardiness Zones

In 1990, the United States Department of Agriculture separated the country into eleven zones according to the average annual lowest temperature. The purpose of the zones is to label areas according to the type of plants that can be sustained in that region. Different plants can handle different temperature ranges. Each zone indicates the relative severity of winter and the necessary hardiness of the agriculture. The Adirondacks has areas classified as zones 3, 4, and 5.