Hey caudex, I usually get low 30s every year, but this location is very protected. The far wall (where the pachy, the passiflora edulis and mina lobata are)faces south. The wall to the right faces west. There is a small shed where the picture was taken from, and there is a lattice-roofed patio to the left just out of the picture. I found out that it was very well protected when i had cannas bloom year round there, and a draceana also go through the winter without missing a beat. Outside of the range of the photo are two clumps of pygmy date palms too. And also, some of the plants are too small to see. I have torch aloes (which i started from cuttings in July) and an aloe marlothii right smack in the center of it all. And the plant in front of the pachy is a dwarf papaya. It is the smallest of 8. The rest are in the far right corner, but the roses block them out. The largest one is actually developing flower buds. These were volunteer seedlings, so even though i would want them to survive into next year, i do not have high hopes because the rain might rot them out. I do have a jatropha, but it is potted.

There's another weed/wildflower in my garden that's really pretty in some of its permutations. I've been calling it a "wild geranium" because the leaves sort of look like geranium leaves. I finally found it on the net and it's actually mallow. Several types, to be specific. The prettiest are the "tree mallow" or "hollyhock mallow," which grow to several feet tall (if tops aren't pinched off) and have relatively large, brightly colored (pink, purple, or 'striped') blossoms. Then there is the "common mallow," which has much smaller, white or pale pink flowers and usually spreads out over the ground. Pretty sure these are hardy annuals, not perennials, and it's pretty easy to pull up the unwanted young plants in the spring when the ground is moist. I have a friend whose back yard was abundant with the large, colorful varieties, and I found it easy to harvest the seeds. Mallow is also a widely used medicinal plant/herb. Here are some pics: http://www.nerc.ac.uk/publications/latestpressrelease/2005-42puffins.asp http://www.santabarbarahikes.com/flowers/index.php?action=show_item&id=257&search= http://www.cwss-scm.ca/Weeds/images/Mal2-common-mallow.JPG http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://212.84.179.117/i/Mallow.jpg&imgrefurl=http://212.84.179.117/list.htm&h=300&w=189&sz=17&hl=en&start=11&tbnid=Qhhpso2ryidvJM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=73&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmallow%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D http://212.84.179.117/i/Musk-mallow.jpg http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://aco.ca/acorns/_images/perennial_gardens/Wild-Mallow-Blooms-July-thr.jpg&imgrefurl=http://aco.ca/perennial_gardens.html&h=335&w=350&sz=46&hl=en&start=64&tbnid=bSmecGCNXHPMpM:&tbnh=115&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmallow%26start%3D54%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN http://www.nerc.ac.uk/publications/latestpressrelease/2005-42puffins.asp http://thebegavalley.com/uploads/tx_steverplantgallery/Malva_parviflora_04_small-flowered%20mallow.jpg http://www.easywildflowers.com/quality/cal.di1.jpg http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.naturedirect2u.com/Medicinal%2520herbs/mallowpic4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.naturedirect2u.com/Medicinal%2520herbs/mallowherb.htm&h=387&w=368&sz=42&hl=en&start=137&tbnid=8iP2FaB60KZ36M:&tbnh=123&tbnw=117&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmallow%26start%3D126%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.garten.cz/images_enc/00058/00058C1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.garten.cz/encyklopedie.php%3Flng%3Den%26encid%3D58&h=200&w=150&sz=13&hl=en&start=234&tbnid=9y9Rq8Mivh7YuM:&tbnh=104&tbnw=78&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmallow%26start%3D220%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN

From the choice of plants it looks like you are going for a wildflower hillside look. There will not be a structure to the design since you are not including any bushes between the groups of flowers. If that is the look you want just plant the tall plants to the back and short plants in front.

Ok! I have a newbie question too! Ok it snows less than an inch. For most people in my little neighborhood the store is in walking distance. That store was jam packed with people getting ready for the "shut in" from the "snow storm" WAY ahead of time. The streets were totally empty that day. BTW, the snow melted the next day. They have an actual storm with possible tornadoes,a torrential down pour and lots of flooded out areas. The makings of a real natural disaster... Nobody even gives it a second thought unless their house actually floods. People were driving around like normal and saying stuff like,"Lots of rain were having..." I'm SO confused!!!PJ