Hi, I am in zone 9 Concord (East Bay Area) I have good luck with cannas, gingers, daturas, brugmansia, bananas, elephant ears, castor bean. I love the big leaf plants. For smaller plants I love persian shield,caladium, coleus.
Most of these are hardy for me, but our winters have not been that cold for the last couple of years.
I take cuttings of coleus and persian shield in the fall. the caladiums rot sometime but they are pretty cheap to replace. I also like to use annuals like sweet potato vine, black eye susan.
How very exciting for you. Hope this helps.
Linda

you have gotten lots of good suggestions for flowering, colorful plants, but not as many for large leafed foliage. I would highly recommend things like Melianthus major, Acanthus mollis and Acanthus spinossisimus, Tetrapanaz papyriferus, Cyperus textilis, Fatsia japonica, Sparmannia africana, as large leafed plants for texture and line. Flowering winter perennials such as Bergenia crassifolia and Camellia sasanqua along with some of the Magnolias such as M. stellata or M. soulangeana are also good to mix in with the larger foliage plants, and can blend well with a tropical looking garden. For full sun spots you might consider some of the hardier Agaves and other succulents, or things like Cordyline australis cultivars, Beschorneria yuccoides, or Echeveria x imbricata and Graptopetalum paraguayense. Massed plantings of Calla Lilies or the newer deeper blue shades of Agapanthus can also be very dramatic. Crinums such as C. moorei or C. powelli are also great for midsummer into fall bloom. My favorite Canna for graceful flowers is C. ehemannii, which gets very tall and has smaller, more tidy deep rose flowers. Chinese hardy Banana, Musella lasiocarpa or Musa basjoo are also good choices. I probably wouldn't recommend the Giant Bird of Paradise for your area, as it is too likely to be frozen back to the roots periodically. Another fast grower that may not get to bloom, as it usually frosts before Thanksgiving in Sacramento, would be the Tree Dahlia, Dahlia imperialis. It is dramatic in foliage even if it doesn't get to bloom. For palms, you might consider Butia capitata or Brahea armata, both perfectly hardy and very showy in your area. Amongst the hardier bamboos, Bambusa multiplex 'Alphonse Karr' has beautiful striped pink and yellow stems, and Black Bamboo, although a runner, has gorgeous apple green new foliage and deep black stems that can get 20 feet tall. If you have the room, Timber Bamboo, Bambusa oldhamii is also dramatic. Be aware that all bamboos are rather messy to use around a pool without a pool cover. Some other flowering trees to consider in combination with the Crape Myrtle might include x Chitalpa tashkentensis 'Pink Dawn' or Tabebuia impetiginosa, both very showy in bloom, and not seen all that often. Paulownia tomentosa is a good hardier substitute for Jacaranda in your area, although it does get huge and has brittle wood.

I'm in San Jose... We're more "mediterranean" than "tropical" (like you) - but there're plenty of plants that'll do the trick!

I have many of the previously suggested plants in my yard.

I'll list some additions - mostly what I consider to be "Bomb-Proof" around here (Hint: If Cal-Trans plants it on median strips along the highway - chances are, you can't kill it! ;-)

Hibiscus and Bougainvillea. Great color additions! I have Barbara Karst boug planted next to a bright pink - and quite tall - hibiscus (unfortunately, I don't remember the variety). They compliment each other nicely - and both do very well in hot, dry climates (with soggy cold winters!). We had an extra cold/extra wet winter last year, and I had very few fatalities!

Cannas, Bananas, and Calla Lilies - definitely a good bet for that tropical foliage look. Cannas and Bananas will multiply like crazy.

Oh, and Alocasia macorrhiza. Limonium (Statice) does well, and the leaves look tropical. And Queen palms do very well with little assistance. I agree on the Mexican Fan Palm - Stay away!!!

I like mixing colors w/foliage and enjoy the "purples" against lighter greens. Some of the cannas are good for that. I also use Purple Majesty Ornamental Millet and Purple Fountain Grass. The "plumes" aren't so tropical - but I like the purple colors (and they both seem to thrive with little care). Another (drought-friendly) choice is New Zealand Flax which also comes in a bronzy-burgundy color. But it gets pretty big.

Purple foliage against chartreuse is *really* nice. Ipomoea "Margarita" is a good choice for the chartreuse (Annual, though). Purple Fountain Grass at the base of clumps of banana trees looks cool...

My yard is appx 85% Full-Sun (with little water in the summer) so I haven't had luck with things that don't like full-sun. Ergo Fatsia Japonica (it just gets fried!).

Other ideas: If you happen upon any tropical plant sales (i.e. WalMart 4-inchers) - when they're cheap, I try to load up on tropical houseplants and stick 'em out in the yard (in the slightly wetter/slightly shadier spots) and treat 'em as annuals. I've had varying degrees of success w/that (my spider plants are thriving - and this is their 2nd year outdoors). I certainly wouldn't recommend planting the entire yard w/house-plants, but sprinkling them about seems to add a nice touch.

Some of my houseplants go out in the summer, and back in in the winter, but the house is too small/dark to do that with very many plants. I have a portable greenhouse that goes up in winter - but only provides "marginal" protection.

Hint for winter: Mulch Mulch Mulch!!!

I'm posting a link to my Garden Page. I haven't updated it in awhile (That's a "Wintertime Chore"), but it might give you some ideas of what will grow around here - and what looks can be achieved.

Weather's been too nice for me to spend much time on updates! I've got a BUNCH of pics in the camera (amazing to look back and see how much stuff has "grown!") - I just need to update the page... Soon... (But not *too* soon! I'm lovin' the warm weather too much!)

HTH

-Nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: IMQTPI's Garden Photos

I am also in Concord CA (same as Linda). You have to expect a certain amount of plant losses every year due to cold. I would not, however, accept losses of trees, so only choose cold-hardy palms (lots of choices). Bamboo is nice, but select them carefully. My backyard is 100%
(sub)tropical themed.

Another thing to consider with the pool is wind. Things will blow into the pool so consider what things will damage the concrete and the water by dropping in or blowing in. My neighbor has a huge tree that drops ALL of its leaves into my yard and pool. Luckily they are large leaves that are easily picked up and we only have to do it a few times- great project for the kids to do. I have a princess flower and this one type of hybiscus that produces plate-sized burgundy/red flowers. Gorgeous but the dead flowers need to be picked off as they are messy on nearby concrete. There is some tree on other side of fence, quite a ways away from my pool, but it blows little pod seeds, about the size of little beetles (once thought they were those aweful beetles), into my pool. They end up all along the water line. It is a county tree so in the spring I will call them to prune it back a little.

I planted dark orange day lilies and dark purple variety of agapanthas. They are really hardy once they get going and the dark colors match the bird of paradise.

Another plant not mentioned, I think, is the Rose of Sharon and nandina. We got the nandina variety that has a purple toned leaf. Very easy to take care of. We also planted a varigated leaf gardenia in our shady spot. That should look nice once it gets a chance to grow. My shephard decided that was to be his spot to sleep and squished them all down. We had to place moss rock throughtout the bed to keep him out, actually looks nice and it worked. Hopefully this next season they will have a chance to get taller.

Looking for cordylines and phormiums and icee blue podocarpus in Sacto area

I am in Fresno - near exact same climate as you there in Sacramento-maybe a degree or two warmer in the winter time. All those suggestions are suitable. also, if you want to achieve the 'tropical' look, i would suggest palms. Heres some palms that survive well in our valley- besides the common fan palms and canary island dates:

Dypsis Decipiens - manambe palm. this is a slow grower, but well worth it.

Butia Capitata - pindo palm

Pygmy date palm

and here are some plants i am growing in Fresno.
tropic pink guava
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Dahlia Berger's Record
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Brugmansia Frosty Pink
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Honey Murcott Mandarin
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Improved Lisbon Lemon
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Queen Palm
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Majesty Palm
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Tibouchina Urvilleana "Princess Flower"
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Giant Bird of Paradise (Young)
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Choko- fruit from central american highlands
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Mexican Sweet Limes (Key Limes)
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