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Live in eastern-most foothills of the Santa Monica Mts where Los Angeles merges with Pasadena and the San Gabriel's. What Sunset identifies as coastal thermal belt [zone 23]. I do, in fact, harvest bananas along with oranges/limes; avocado and grapefruit nearby. Hibiscus, plumeria, ginger, allamanda, palms, turnera, dombeya, pandorea, heliconia, eucalyptus and fragrant michelia, hoya, and brugmansia. Tropicals; I love them enough to remove well established trees for a majestic palm and another gem, yet to be decided. I'm leaning towards cassia but haven't ruled out tipuana, bauhinia or tabebuia. If the royal poinciana flowers this coming summer as I hope, I will have gone to heaven!

A very long warm dry season is followed by a short wet winter. This wet season in SoCal has been extraordinarily abundant with over 50 inches in Pasadena/foothills. Unprecedented subtropical moisture breaking 125 year old records. Ten feet of snow in the San Bernardino/San Jacinto Mts. Now early March and the deserts are in full color like no one can remember. An avid 'weather nut', rarely experience frost/freezing [last frost 1990]. Lowest winter minimum generally low 40's identifies the garden as USDA 11 at essentially the same latitude as Phoenix/Atlanta/Dallas. Only So. Florida/Hawaii are in zone 11 [or above in Hawaii]. There may be no frost but LA has much cooler nights than Miami/Honolulu. Trouble is unrealible rainfall [except this year, yea!] and bone-dry santa ana winds. These winds can pull moisture right out of the roots of plants! Hillsides have been lush in tall native grasses and walnut trees, sycamores and naturalized eucalyptus/acacia since November. What a treat this year!

Oh, and the coyotes [plenty in these hills] howl in unison each evening and sometimes again late at night after a successful hunt. Love the outdoors, period!