Hi Tova! Good to see you back here again! I am still mostly in hibernation mode and getting some company (my Mom and Sister are coming for a week as of today) so I haven't given it too much thought besides planning the flowerbeds and containers. I am definately not going to W/S as much this year because most of my perennials are starting to fill in now and I have limited city-lot space! LOL --- but yeah, I always end up W/S'ing more then I plan on (and then beg friends/neighbours to take plants off my hands LOL) What worked best last year? Sunflowers, cosmos, lavatera, to mention just a few of my must-haves. I've had great success W/S'ing lupines for a few years now. I love watching them come up because they are one of the earliest sprouters. Ang

@ keraurduck For Northwest FL (zone 8ish) For tropical gardens I recommend making evergreen hedges (or a wall) on the north side, just to increase the protection from winter winds. I also recommend letting things get full and lush as that really enhances the tropical jungle sort of feel. All of the following are definitely hardy in your zone and I have personal experience with almost all of them Understory tree/large narrow shrubs: - Red Buckeye (one of my favorite natives, leaves are large and give it a tropical look+ has red flowers) - Florida Flame azalea - many bananas and relatives are hardy for zone 8 - Coral Bean Erythrina herbacea there is the native one listed or the hybrid Bidwell's Coral Bean which has a longer bloom season. bright red and unique flowers (these love sandy soil) Palms: - Cabbage palm of course - Sabal minor/Dwarf Palmetto (could function as a hedge/shrub "backbone" of a bed) - Needle palm - Butia/Pindo palm (edible golden fruit hardiest feather-type palm but silvery foliage might not match the theme) - Mule palm (hybrid of Pindo and Queen) MIGHT be hardy but I'm not sure, it is definitely the hardiest green feather palm there is Shrubs: - Winter Cassia can get tree-like but most likely a shrub for you - Hibiscus coccineus native Red swamp hibiscus - dwarf figs, various for foliage interest. 'Brown Turkey' and 'Celeste' both do well here for me - Red Florida Anise very cool plant, evergreen (not the edible star anise) - Small-flower Anise 'Florida Sunshine' another native star anise, this one has more chartreuse foliage that brightens up a shade garden (not the edible star anise) Perennials: - Coontie cycad (absolute must IMO, prefer native sandy soil I think, adaptable to a lot of different light conditions) - Red cardinal flower (needs a lot of moisture so good in a swampier spot) - Spigelia marilandica (another native shade-lover, very unique red flowers) - Salvia elegans, Pineapple sage. (edible red flowers in fall, lush and tall, benefits from some relief from sun during the day so dont put it in full exposure) - Salvia blepharophylla shorter red-colored shady sage - Salvia miniata another red-colored shorter shady sage - Cannas of course - Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', Cuphea 'David Verity', Cuphea micropetala - for ferns stick to native species as most others in cultivation are for northern zones or are invasive (like the tuberous sword fern). Christmas fern is evergreen -Hedychium coccineum (shade) Vines: - Manettia cordifolia, Firecracker vine - Red trumpet honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens a native evergreen vine. 'Magnifica' (orange) and 'Major Wheeler' are popular selections'. not aggressive - Carolina Jessamine, evergreen with very lush-looking foliage but a bit bigger than the other vines Two other plants I am unsure about for your zone but love are Firebush and Red Firespike, they might work if sheltered from north winds as I hear some people growing them in zone 8b. Lastly be careful about Elephant ears, many are very invasive. There is the clumping Hawaii series that is less invasive if you must have one. I really like 'Blue Hawaii'.

We started our Bhut seeds in the little sprout trays. Keep them downstairs under lights and at 80 degrees. The happy little Bhuts started coming up in 1-1/2 weeks.When they get 4 healthy looking little leaves we do put them in alittle bigger pots. Very happy and healthy looking! We got some seeds from Bhutheads.com, and very pleased this year! Have found out that watching and "babying" them every day is not good. Just water them every few days...can tell when they need a drink, and talk to them....LOL....and this Summer you will be very pleased with what they give you!! Good Luck!! Very habit forming!!!

Can't possibly thank everyone enough for the responses. In regards to location, we live near Tallahassee, putting us in zone 8b. Unlike south FL, we do have a bit of a fall season and see a few frosty mornings each year, but spring still kicks in blessedly early for us. As a bit of an update my dilemma is that while I don't like the "legginess" of knockout roses, nor do I love the more frilly/full look of many of the English roses that do well here, especially since our yard has numerous camellia trees with similarly full flowers. Knowing full well that the hybrids will cause us (honestly my husband) more work I'm still drawn to them knowing they'll take much more work and will make for turnover in plantings as time goes by. So with the above shared, we have made two picks thus far and have the garden now about half full. One was definitely more of an impulse buy (but with at least a bit of cell phone info review before buying!) while the other was a bit more deliberate. The impulse buy was three "Miracle on the Hudson" rose bushes from our local Costco. They simply looked stunning in the store, with with every customer walking by them stopping to admire them and verbally praise them. The rose itself has what I feel is a bit more richer red than with knockouts while still having a relatively simple flower, while the bushes are not as "leggy" as knockouts and have attractive dark foliage. Quick online reviews showed it listed as highly disease resistant. We'll see. With the "Miracle on the Hudson" a fairly bold / vibrant choice for the garden, we wanted the next rose to help transition to lighter shades / other color options, and with the interior of our home a yellowish shade of paint (Corinthian White), we acted on Irisgal_z9's advice to pick a flower that would look good on the dining room table and choose "Double Delight" as the rose to pair with the Miracle on the Hudson rose. We planted these roses in the half of the space closest to the picture window so will be looking for lighter color roses that are no taller to fill the other half now. We're thinking that with the Double Delight helping transition, we can now go with very soft shades of yellow, pink, or white in the front half of the rose garden area. Absolutely WELCOME any continued recommendations for what might pair well with the space we have left.