I don't use a tent either. If you are concerned about humidity place a small container of water beside the pot. You should also mist them. Where you take your cuttings make a difference and how clean everything too. Here's how you should take cuttings and grow them for any plant Take your cuttings: Prepare your pots with moist soiless mix--yes you should use what you use to start seeds. It has better drainage than potting soil and won't keep your cuttings too wet. Dibble a hole where you are planting your cutting so you don't knock off the rooting hormone. With a sharp knife or razor blade cut a 5 or 6 inch piece from the growing tip, cutting just below a leaf. All roots and branches come from a leaf joint. Remove all but the top 4 or 5 leaves. Dip about 1/2 inch of the cut end in rooting hormone. It comes in powder or gel, either is OK as long as it's for soft wood cuttings. I use Stim-root NO. 1. After it's dipped put it in the hole and cover it in, and you're done. Keep the soil moist but not overly wet. They will look wilted at first but that will change as it starts to grow roots. You will know it's rooted when it starts to show new growth. Wait until it is rooted well before you plant or move to another container

Aggie, the journey can indeed be frustrating and paved with failures. but each failure is a learning experience. What people with experience can do is help you identify the lesson, and maybe also help you to differentiate the possible from the impossible, but don't let anyone rob you of the journey or of giving it a try. At the risk of repeating myself, you are asking a lot of yourself to get both your foundation planting and your flower gardening out of one spot. If colour and seasonal variation are really important things for you, I really would suggest you consider adding a bed somewhere to give yourself more opportunity in better growing conditions - and that is tough to do nicely if you don't make a new bed out of the same stone. But maybe you can do that. The other thing that is a bit uphill for you is that you can only get so much uniqueness when your plantings are in the same PLACE as everyone else's. I suspect in your old neighbourhood, there was variety in WHERE in the yard people put their plants, as well as variety in what plants they had. If I drive through the neighbourhood, everyone's plants are probably at the foundation, and if only the details vary, the overall impression is still very similar. So your bed at the foundation is working against your desire to do something original on two counts. But it can be done... if you haven't already asked in the conifers forum, ask there for some suggestions for specialty conifers that would do well in these conditions. You do need evergreen plants - the bones, so to speak - and they can be broadleaf or needled evergreens. If you want a lot of variety in your flowering plants, you might enjoy having repeats of some interesting evergreens... I keep thinking of Chamaecyparis 'Wissel's Saguaro' but that might just be because I like it a lot. No idea if it works in your conditions. Even boxwoods would look good as consistent, repeated forms to offset the variety. If, on the other hand, you want consistency in the flowers (all purple petunias or peach roses), then go for variety in the conifers. Who knows, you might develop a talent for topiary :-) Some of my favourite yards are amazing topiary confections. I don't have the patience or the discipline for it though. Then you can do amazing things with quite ordinary plants. Pruning makes all the difference between green blobs and interesting shapes. Broadleaf evergreens will also offer some options for you; try asking for advice at a couple of nurseries - not big box stores. I don't know if the Ilex family would work or not, but if so, Ilex 'Mariesii' is a lovely plant - varies in form, can have some fun with it. Whitecap is right that people like me from outside your area may not be much use for specific plant recommendations, but we can help with form, and process. I've linked below to a site that explains the principles of landscape design in a way that I like. It doesn't all translate to the design of a single bed, but you can maybe play with some of the ideas. Karin L Here is a link that might be useful: Principles of landscape design

cranebill, I was a bit skeptic myself last year so I waited until the end of march to winter sow them. I'm in zone 5 so I thought I should avoid negative temps outside. I had almost 100 percent germination by April 19th and planted them out by May 31st. I have to admit I'm waiting again until March for the petunias. I also had great results with nicotiana too - I winter sowed those in February and had sprouts starting April 2nd. I see you are a zone higher so you may have germination sooner. Here is a picture of winter sown Lipstick Kisses petunias around the end of June: (The Grape Hyacinth bean in the pic was also winter/spring sown):

It's not uncommon for petunias to look a little worn out after a rain. Just deadhead the blooms that have gotten beaten down and you'll probably have new blooms in a few days. Just as lisa455 said, petunias are more of a cool season plant in Louisiana, but they should make it until June before you need to replace them (North Louisiana). When they start getting really leggy, pinch them back about 1/3. They'll rebound really quickly.