Bend, Or members?

Anyone here from Bend, OR? I am going over there sometime this summer to help my ds and dil w/ baby nursery set up (due in october)and do something in their yard. What is the usda zone there?

Hi Anastatia - I do not live in Bend, but my folks do. I helped my mother select plants for thier landscaping about 10 years ago. The USDA zone rating is 6; the Sunset zone rating is 1A. (The Sunset system is commonly used by many western gardeners, but not nationally - most plant tags or books use the USDA system.)
Are you going to be planting a flower garden or vegies, shrubs - do you know what they want in the way of color, texture, etc? As far as landscaping plants go, you can plant a lot, but be aware of the nighttime temperature dip - Bend's climate is high desert, and It is not unusual for the temperature to be in the upper 80's during the day, dropping to the mid to upper 30's at night. It seems to me that the growing season is no more than 100 days, and their last frost date is typically June 1. Most conifers, and hardy deciduous shrubs do well. Warm season plants can be grown, like vegies, but they should be varieties that are considered "short season". Tomatoes & peppers are labor intensive - should be planted where they will receive reflected heat and covered at night for protection. ( Lots of people grow them in containers and bring them inside if its going to get too chilly. Many of the hardy perennials & annuals do fine. Roses - select varieties that are known for cold-hardiness. My mom finally lost a David Austin rose to winter weather...she was very sad about that, but knew it was bound to happen.
One place to get some great advice is to visit one of the local nurseries. I found people to be extremely helpful. I also took walks through neighborhoods on the weekends, when people were out in their yard, and just chatted with them. Another is to get ahold of someone in a local gardening society, or at the college there. Books were my best source because I have been gardening for 26 years, so I had a good base of knowledge to draw from. Also - check out the soil in their yard - it tends to be very rocky/sandy, so they may want to consider bringing in topsoil, and amend it generously! Good luck & have a great time!

Katye, You are wealth of information. Thanks. I was thinking of taking over a 'baby' lilac. I had a difficult time finding what usda zone they were in since the maps were difficult for me to place Bend. Thanks again, you gave me lots of great info.

Hi Anastatia - lilacs are super for the area - they do really well there. I hope you have a lot of fun, and learn something useful - it was a great learning experience for me, because I had not dealt with high desert climate prior to that. Makes one appreciate the extremes that some plants can deal with. One thing that really stuck with me was that the USDA & Sunset guides stress the low temperatures that plants can endure. But the high temps, and humidity (or lack of...) are important factors, too.
I tried to talk my Mom into getting a small greenhouse for tomatoes & peppers, but she doesn't like to fuss. (Well, at least I saved myself some money!)
The other thing that interested me was in regards to Xeric plants - that is not something I have to deal with here (10 miles east of Seattle) with all the rain & cooler temps.
Take care & all the best to you! Kate