shows how limited the zone allocations are though - we are all roughly Z8 (and even 9 in southerly parts) but no-one in the UK expects to catch a sniff of a rose until the middle of May (at the very earliest, and not counting the spring yellows), but more likely, the first week in June. We usually only get 2 flushes - one in June, the other in September, even with very remontant roses. Mostly, we all go on holiday in July, when our gardens go to sleep for a month then get excited about dahlias in August.

I wouldn't call all Clematis dummy proof. There is a good list of starter Clematis: http://www.clematis.com.pl/wms/wmsg.php/ I suggest learning as much as you can, then buy one, and you will be rewarded with a serious addiction. The passion flower: If people in your area say they don't grow well in your climate, I'd trust them :-) The slope: What is the soil like and how much sun does it get during the day? Slopes are difficult. Using one type of ground cover always shows weeds. That's not a bad thing if you don't mind getting the weeds out of the ground cover a few times a year. If you live in the country, maybe seed the whole thing with low growing wild flowers; the weeds won't be so noticable. If you live in a neighborhood where people maintain perfect lawns, the slope will always look to be a mess to some degree. To avoid that, terracing the slope and adding irrigation will allow you to have a tidy yard, but the cost is high. If you do live in the country, and are isolated, search the term prairie restoration or short grass prairie restoration, and look for a group in your area, or the state park system that is restoring prairies; most states have some sort of a program, or at least know which types of plants work best in for climate. Prairies can be quite beautiful in an uncultered sort of way. If you have neighbors close by, be prepared for hate mail if you choose to go this route. Good luck!

Softmentor - You are very right on the many number of factors that determine cold hardiness (others we did not mention: acclamation to cold and overall health of the tree)...there is certainly no "magic number." I have found that upper 20's for a few hours are fine for oranges, grapefruit, and meyer lemons. Other lemons, citrons, limes, etc. wouldn't like that I am sure. From my understanding, Trifoliate orange rootstalk actually does add some protection because it is the only citrus that goes completely dormant in the winter. According to John Panzarella (a local citrus guru for Southeast Texas), "PT goes dormant in the winter, so reduces the water flow to the scion and gives the scion a few degrees of cold protection. PT will not start growing and producing tender new growth with a few days of warm weather in the winter." The last sentence is especially important for Texas, as in the winter we have frequent gulf breezes battling arctic cold fronts. So far, here are my unprotected lows for my varieties: Rio Red Grapefruits (2 trees planted at the same time by previous owner)- 26 F (4 years old, south side of house, pine trees overhead) -- tree was covered in snow (maybe insulated it a bit??), I was very surprised that there was no damage. Okistu Satsuma - 29 F (planted fall 2008, north side in the yard, no overhead protection at all) Meyer Lemon - 28 F (planted spring 2007, north side of house, no overhead protection) Moro Blood Orange - 28 F (planted spring 2007, in yard with no protection) Lakeland Limequat - 29 F (planted fall 2008, north side of house, 2 feet from brick exterior of house) As you can see, this is a very small sample size and only a brief history of data. Last winter was pretty warm, as has this winter so far. I wish I had a better way of measuring the length of the freeze and other variables.

They like some shade. When they bloom, cut them back to the first node for repeat bloom, then cut the bloom stalk back to the base after the next blooms. In their favor, they're evergreen in zone 8. I think they're fond of acid soil, too. They're native to the southeastern USA. They also like dividing every 2-3 years or the fleshy roots will crowd each other out. You can take one teeny plant and by dividing, have a great long border edged with them very quickly. Nell