It does look like the Hog Plum described by Susanc, look at the following info. If that matches, especially the smell of the crushed leaves, then it is most likely is ximenia americana. If not, then it could be one of the wild plums native to Florida. Leaves are oval shaped, bright green and have a strong smell of almonds. Flowers are pale in color. Fruits are lemon-yellow or orange-red.

Wow, thanks for the recommendations to all of you. I do like the idea of Ribes, it has flowers similar to fuschia and the birds will love it. Many of your other recommendations I planted at my parents' home during the last few years, so I can easily make cuttings. I might have to grow some of those full sun species in pots up on our balcony where some spots get full sun year round. Carpenteria may be nice, too. Some white to brighten up the shady spot. Calycanthus is a nice flower morphology, and I love the fragrance of it. Yerba Buena would be a nice groundcover under the trees by the street, and again, I like that it has fragrance. It will like the fog in Summer, too. Phacelia campanularia is one of my favorite flowers, the blue color is amazing. I only worry about the kids in the neighborhood touching it, it gave me a pretty bad dematitis a few months ago when I collected seeds from them. I've been trying to estimate how much sun that area will get in the peak of summer, in June. I think one strip will be filtered/dappled shade, and half of one will be in direct sunlight for a few hours when the sun is highest in the sky. The Las Pilitas site is basically my encyclopedia for getting info about plants, especially their hummingbird and butterfly plant lists. That, google image searches and the online Jepson manual. And even though they aren't natives, I've always wanted to grow Hellebores, so maybe that will go in somewhere too. Thanks again, and happy gardening.

Blueberries are a thought, esh ga; I do love the foliage. The last time I had highbush blueberries was a good many years ago (at least 10), before the deer got bad. As for lowbush blueberries, I planted 5 of them about 5 years ago, and I now have one plant left. The deer pulled the other 4 out of the ground with their constant munching (much like they do everytime I try to plant anything in the carex species -- next time I try to plant either of these, I think I'm going to make a chicken wire cage to cover them until they have a chance to establish a good root system.). In rethinking the issue, the deer may not be a big problem in this area because the planting bed is pretty deep. The deer usually content themselves with dining along the edges of the borders around the house. I've never known them to move beyond the first plants in a border to get to what's behind. That could change, of course, as they seem to get bolder every day. Loris, I just happened to discover UCONN's plant selector search engine yesterday while doing some research. I know it's a site I'll use often. Plugging in my light/soil requirements for this site yielded nannyberry and blackhaw viburnum as results. I have a blackhaw in my front border at the edge of the house, and I love it, but has only been there about 4 years and would already be too tall for the site I'm looking at now. From what I've read, nannyberry gets even bigger. The problem is that my son's only bedroom window is directly above my planting site, so the height of whatever I plant there needs to top out at 10 ft. at the most; 8 ft. would probably be better. I frequently refer to the MD Native Plant Society's plant lists, especially because I'm really trying to have all my new plantings consist of plants that are native to the Maryland piedmont, not just to Maryland in general. As for William Cullina's book, I have seen that book referenced so many times, that I finally decided to order my own copy. The book I use most now for natives is Donald J. Leopold's Native Plants of the Northeast, which is a very good reference, too. I'm now also considering a mapleleaf viburnum for the spot. Although it would only reach 5 ft. in height, according to Leopold's book, it prefers dry soil and shade. I'm going to keep looking and mulling over the possibilities for a few more weeks. Whatever I decide on, I'm hoping to get it at 50 percent off when the local nurseries start having their fall clearance sales.

Courtney, I have grown crossvine on a chain link fence, at our home in Fort Worth in the 1980s/1990s, and I have grown it here in Oklahoma on an arbor since 1999. I have never seen it sprawl on the ground as a ground cover, but it is my understanding that it is often used that way. It will make a pretty dense cover of foliage over time, but I think that if it and the shasta daisies/coneflowers were all planted at the same time (or if the daisies/coneflowers precede it), the crossvine shouldn't overwhelm them and choke them out. Another excellent native type of groundcover is Virginia Creeper. It creeps on the grounds in our woodland areas and doesn't seem to climb up into the trees too much (perhaps because the poison ivy and greenbriar have already climbed all the available trees! lol). On the east side of our house, it is climbing the wall of the 2 story house and has just about reached the roof. It has taken it several years to climb that high though. As a bonus, it attracts some kind of butterfly or moth. I don't remember which one, but I bet Susan knows. I have 'Tangerine Beauty' crossvine on an arbor with 'Flava' trumpet creeper and it is a true hummingbird magnet. I think crossvine would make a beautiful ground cover, and it is semi-evergreen so you'd still have some leaves on it for most of the winter. One of the great things about American Crossvine is that it is one of the primary flowering vines that hummingbirds rely on when migrating. So, in the springtime, when the American Crossvine and the Trumpet Creeper start blooming, the hummers are right behind them. Dawn