If you find the recent winter weather a bit weird where you live, here's a friendly helper to the when and where of digging into the soil.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map gives regions of the United States different numbers or 'zones'.  Look at your seed packets or plants and match the dates with the zones for perfect coordination for seeding or planting.  The dates and zones have changed a bit this year.  Whether it is global warming or just a little shift, we can't be sure...

The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones.

For the first time, the map is available as an interactive GIS-based map, for which a broadband Internet connection is recommended, and as static images for those with slower Internet access. Users may also simply type in a ZIP Code and find the hardiness zone for that area.

No posters of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map have been printed. But state, regional, and national images of the map can be downloaded and printed in a variety of sizes and resolutions.