the girly who shall end all girls

C let me sleep in this morning and then we wandered down to Hattie's Hat so that i could have swedes. (it is only at this moment that i have connected my morning craving for swedes and Hattie's to seeing a swedish vampire flick the night before.) we had a spirited discussion a while ago with mimerki and butterflydrming about how Hattie's is a vampire diner, but a loser vampire diner. since the remodel is complete, i think it's even more appropriate, although they might attract a higher level of vampires since the windows in the back are gone and the entire place is a bit dim. what used to be "Aunt Harriet's room" now features booths that appear to be named after cows or scandinavian girls (isn't it funny that i hear a name like Mae and immediately think bovine?) and a large saltwater fish tank. they have a cowfish! there are also small sharks, but cowfish!
we strolled home up Ballard Ave and stopped for coffee on the way (i can't remember the name of the shop, but it might as well be called "coffee and a lawyer" because of the juxtaposition of their sign and the law firm that must be upstairs)...lots of people out strolling and walking dogs.
we got to see the Dante's Inferno hot dog cart being loaded out of a rental truck into position at Bergen Place. i tried to snap a picture, but it didn't come out - the cart was alone on the street with a strap over the food compartments and a sign that said "back in 5 minutes. no touch!"
the rosebush is collapsing under the weight of all the flowers, and the lavender i planted is almost ready to bloom. i have two movies today.

this will be my first summer with dirt of my own in the northwest. i'm allowed to do whatever with the green space. (okay, as much as i want to eliminate all of the grass in front of and to the side of the house, i probably won't sink money into that kind of improvement. it's still a rental.) i'm probably going to do more maintaining than adding or altering until i see a life cycle and know what is already growing here.
my problem is that all of my garden lore is for the northeast US, on the border between zone five and zone six. Seattle is zone eight, same as Georgia. this is total bullshit- while we share mild winters, the humidity, summer temperatures, and rainfall patterns couldn't be much more different.
dear Seattle gardening transplants, how did you learn to make your garden grow? do you have a book or organization you would recommend? i'm more interested in flowers than food right now.