I like to advise newcomers to an area to become acquainted with their local extension office. A personal visit might result in some very good pointers as well as a handful of fact sheets, brochures, and pamphlets. Your local office would be a great place to begin finding out about winter and spring crops, soil testing, pest and disease trends, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Click here!

Also, find/buy/borrow local and regional gardening books, starting with the Southern Living Garden Book, any by Toby Bost (although he is SC), Elizabeth Lawrence (older but still very good), etc., etc.

The climate is VERY different, and a number of plants that thrived in NY won't grow here at all, some will struggle, some will be annuals instead of perennials, and some will thrive. The summer heat and humidity will do in a number of plants. Become familiar with your AHS Heat Zone, and utilize it whenever possible; some growers/nurseries don't use it, but it will tell you what is likely to survive your summer. Here that's the major plant killer for some of the ones you may be familiar with. There are any number of plants and shrubs that can be grown here that wouldn't survive a winter in upstste NY, but that manage very well with Southern summers. Some may take a short break in the worst of the summer, and then rebound in the cooler weather of Sept. and Oct..

Unless you gave your lavender EXCELLENT drainage, it may not survive - I keep struggling with them, but they keep dying on me, from too much wet for too long, on my clay, despite being in slightly raised beds. And for some reason, I can't seem to get in sync with their needs in pots.

You don't say if you have mostly sun, or mostly shade, or a mix - I am assuming mostly sun from what you have planted already. Daylilies will thrive, but get mostly reblooming ones so they flower for most of the summer; my Stellas and Happy Returns still have a few blooms even now. Unless you really like the color, avoid the brassy gold of Stella d'Oro, as there are softer and easier colors. I will admit I do have it, and they do bloom just about continuously. The Black-Eyed Susan should thrive also.

You SHOULD get blooms from the tulips and hyacinth next spring, and MAY have them in the next few years, it depends on the winter as much as anything else, and that can't be truly predicted. Mine are variable, usually coming back, but too often getting blasted by the heat before they do more than just open. Last spring, most of them were attractive for about a week.

Unless you have a good watering system, there will probably be a period of drought/no rainfall during the summer, when you WILL have to water at least part of your garden. I assume you are on city water, and starting with a blank slate as far as old, established plantings go. That being the case, plan for using as little supplemental watering as you can, while, at the same time, still giving things good drainage. A good mulch - double-ground wood is good - helps keep the soil evenly moist and helps improve it over time. Unless you DO have excellent soil (and even then, don't), DON'T put down any of the landscape cloth - it does allow rain through, and stops many weeds, but it usually becomes exposed, is nearly impossible to plant through, and does NOTHING to improve the soil under it. Get a soil test done on your soil, so you KNOW what additives, nutrients, fertilizers you really need to add.

Most of the ornamental grasses do very well - avoid most of the miscanthuses - they have escaped gardens here in the foothills and are becoming a problem in the wild. In fact, get a copy of the invasive plants in the South, and try to avoid them all!

As far as edibles go - you can plant lettuce, spinach, kale, peas, etc., now, and have them early in the spring, if not all winter. As suggested above - consult your county's Agricultural Extension office.

Welcome to the area! Suggestions from others are very good. Do you know if DEER are a problem in your neighborhood? I recommend some web-surfing to look up plants/shrubs before you purchase them. I have a large herd of 17 or more who visit my front meadow daily. Since I tinker in the plant business (licensed), I have lots and lots of shrubs and plants outside my fenced garden. I still do my research just to see if a new plant that I'm going to try has turned out to be tasty to deer.

It's not too late to plant some shrubs and some of the perennials. If you don't have deer, azaleas are "southern" and the new reblooming varieties work well here.

If you do have deer, hypericum x hidcote is a semi-evergreen mounding shrub for full/part sun that has yellow flowers all summer and is 3x3ft in size. It's an herb, St. John's Wort, so it needs good drainage like lavender. Some of the other hypericums (groundcover) can be invasive, but this one is shrubby.

Other herbs -- rosemary and thyme work well in a flower bed and serve a culinary purpose. I grow Spanish lavender quite successfully as long as it is planted high in the ground.

Deer will sometimes take the first bloom off of my Japanese and Dutch iris, but the plant continues to grow and bloom. They look through my Dianthus Bath's Pink judging by the tufts they pull out, but 99% of it is fine.

Deer will sometimes taste ligustrum, but they can take pruning and so no permanent damage is done. A nice variegated ligustrum grey-green/yellow foliage is ligustrum sinesis Swift's Creek. It's a compact variety (5x5) and provides brightness. It can take a variety of soils and will do fine in full sun or part sun.

The deer have left my gardenias alone so far. There are many varieties and sizes of gardenias for part shade.

Deer will destroy hostas and hydrangeas. Better choices for shade would be farfugium japonicum (crested leopard's plant). It is a bright green with yellow speckles, rounded leaves and a mounded form of 2x3. It is evergreen here and it pairs well with Astilbe Visions, a lovely magenta flowering perennial with fern-like foliage. A nice evergreen groundcover of gold to accompany the plant is creeping jenny (lysmachia). If you want an ornamental sedge to pair with it, then carex dolichostachya 'Kaga nishiki' works well. All of these shade plants are suitable for a pathway/sidewalk. So far, the deer haven't harmed my heuchera, but I've read reports that they will browse that plant.

A full-sun perennial that is fairly evergreen here is stachys byzantina -- lamb's ear. I get a large ear variety that's fuzzy and grey (children love to touch it). It makes a nice mounded edging plant. It needs good drainage like lavender. It looks great in front of a burgundy lorepetulum. The lorepetulum has tiny fuschia blooms, but the deer eat those, yet I'm still left with the nice burgundy foliage.

A good book that you might want to pick up is the Southern Living Garden Book. It's like an encylopedia of plants, trees, shrubs, grasses, fruits, veggies for the south. It's a bit pricey, but if you plan to do a lot of gardening, it's about the most comprensive book that I've found for our region.

Best of luck with your gardening.

There are SO many things you can put out- but plan to develop over a year to 3 years, so you can really enjoy your success. If you like early bulbs, toss in plenty of Daffodils & Crocus. They really bring a smile in early spring! Don't forget the Camelia Japonica, Sasanqua Camelias, Hydrangea, Rose of Sharon, and Rhododenrons if you want southern blooms. All are different and beautiful! Learn about aphids.
Remember than here, "direct sun" can be brutal on some plants that tolerate it well in NY (depending on your particular situation). If the plant looks like it is suffering, move it. However, there are plenty which can never get enough sun. Right now I have Asters, Swamp Sunflowers (5-11' Black-eyed Susan-looking flowers), Gerber Daisies, Oleander, Black eyed Susans, two colors of Butterfly Bush, Morning Glories, Dianthus, Yellow Lantana, Mexican Petunias, and Cannas blooming. I have so many tomatoes still that I begged a friend to come pick so I wouldn't have to!
If you want a pretty flowering edge, you may find it interesting that Dianthus usually comes back here, blooming and spreading slowly. I have planted it in NC from the coast to Charlotte, and it tolerates the climate well. Daylilies are easy.
Jasmine can be gorgeous and a beautiful aroma, but make sure you want it if you plant it- same as wisteria.
Check out davesgarden.com and check which plants grow- when- in Raleigh. Make sure you have something blooming always! Oh- and don't worry when Dave tells you you have to pay for a subscription. Sign in as a free member and search as much as you like. The pages have great info on each plant. Good luck!

i have had hyacinths for more than 5 years with no problems--but i plant them in Permatil, which keeps the rodents at bay. take a look at a place like Old House bulbs for the tulips that are workable in our zone. there are lady tulips that are lovely and can handle our heat. again, i plant them in Permatil. daffodils are beautiful and should not have problems (though i am careful to buy varieties that are zone friendly).

Walk your yard alot. I prefer to do it early in the morning with coffee in hand although in the evening with wine in hand is good also lol. Winter sun and summer shade can determine several plant choices, especially our spring bloomers. I have learned that if I have early blooming sun lovers they are finishing up by the time the trees are fully leafed out.

Divide your yard into areas. It is easy to become overwhelmed with choices. As you are walking, which area draws you the most? I see my front yard alot but I spend the majority of my time on the back porch. I try to make my backyard my oasis. I am working towards getting my front yard set with easy care perennials. I want to be able to mulch and weed once or twice a year and be done with it. But my backyard will be a work in progress for many years because I am not trying to "finish" it I am trying to grow with it. I play in the back yard. I experiment. I attempt. It is my favorite place. It is my place to relax.

Also look at the wintersowing forum. This is a great technique and a great community. Good luck and have fun. Shannon/Dirtrx