I would think that about all sun loving bulbs would be fine with 4-5 hours of afternoon sun. What would you recommend I plant? I would suggest this fall that you plant some Daffodils for spring time blooms. Not all daffodils will grow well in your warmer zone, but the Brent and Becky's Bulbs site lists the suggested planting zones for different cultivars they carry. Typically 'most' Division 8 - Tazetta will be fine for your zone, but I'd check for sure before ordering. Since you are in zone 8b, I'd probably stick with those that can be grown in zone 9. Brent and Becky's catalog it presently closed to ordering spring blooming bulbs which are planted in the fall, so watch for them to open it sometime later this year if interested in ordering some really nice daffodils. Sue...a daff addict Here is a link that might be useful: Brent and Becky's Daffodils

I have a Campsis x tagliabuana 'Madame Galen' (a cross)trumpet vine that is vigorous but not invasive in my zone 5 garden. Mine was planted in 2004. I have mine growing in quite a bit of shade and use it to hide some ugly brick. It gives a nice solid green backdrop that I like. I stretch mine out sideways in two directions and it grows about 20-25 feet at most. Mine does not bloom, perhaps originally because of the part shade. However, I read on Dave's that it does not bloom (or is very slow to bloom) for many people, supposedly because it may have been started from immature stock. As my trumpet vine grew older I began cutting it back each year in early spring to 3-5 feet and letting it regrow, which it does quickly. This keeps it exactly where I want it - on what I want and since it climbs by itself there is almost no work for me at all after its yearly haircut. It does not send up runners across the way or anything like that, and can't spread its seed or anything because it has no flowers! I tried a Campsis radicans Flamenco and it died out in a couple of years. I think it may have been too wet, or so slow to show itself that I planted something else into it. Some other vines I use that you might be interested in are honeysuckles, the very nice Lonicera sempervirens 'Blanche Sandman' has lots of scarlet blooms and is very well-behaved. Mine was planted in 2005. I did have another one with flame in the name, Goldflame, Pink Lemonade ?? something like that, anyway that one mildewed badly for me, something I hardly ever get in this garden, but this one probably got shaded out too much by some enlarging shrubbery making it weak. I eventually removed it. It had the typical narrow tubular blooms that were a pretty pink color. However, neither of these two vines get really long like a trumpet vine or a sweet autumn clematis do. My two sweet autumns both get well over 20 feet, but unlike in the south, I have never had a single seedingl off of mine. The SACs gets cut back to 3-5 feet from the woody base and regrow covering most of a 60 foot stretch of fence. In addition, I also have a Halls (japonica) honeysuckle which is considered by most everyone to be invasive. I love the thing and planted it long before I knew it was supposed to be a problem, well over 10 years ago. It is some work for me, but not outlandish by any means. It blooms very well and has a wonderful scent. It may be a true invasive getting into wild places and such, but I have not been able to bring myself to remove it, especially since it is available for sale everywhere around here. With the Hall's honeysuckle I limit (cut out) the number of main stalks coming out of the ground each spring, make sure everything goes up the structure including later emerging growth, as it does try to root if pieces or stems are left on the ground, then let it waterfall down, being careful again not to let it touch the ground. I also cut out some of the undergrowth if it gets too bushy in midseason after its main growth period is over. It blooms for over a month in mid-spring through early summer. It mostly blooms on old wood, which is why I restrict the number of stems rather that cutting it all back in spring, I do get some repeat bloom later in the season. Every three years or so I cut it back hard and let it regrow - maybe 15 foot max with cutbacks, somewhat longer without them. I can't really recommend this one, if it is invasive to the environment, but it is very manageable in my climate in my conditions with reasonable pruning.

The purple flowers at the top of the fence are from Clematis Etoile Violette, a viticella clem that is very easy to grow. It is a very dark purple which is set off well by the very pale pink of the New Dawn rose. The picture was taken June 14, 2007. The bluer purple flowers at the bottom in the shade created by the rose are Zwanenberg Blue Spiderwort (Tradescantia). I just realized that I didn't show you any of the hybrid daylilies that are in the niddle portions of the long narrow bed. Didn't want you to think that there are only the orange ditch daylilies (Hemerocallis fulva) that are shown in the 1st picture! The fulvas (spreading not clumping dls) are in the northwest corner in almost total shade due to the northern exposure and an overhead tree. These started blooming this year on June 10th. The dozen hybrid daylilies in this narrow bed are all new plants and eventually I'll have to move about half of them somewhere else when they grow too crowded. So don't be too concerned about overcrowding your bulbs - most all of us overcrowd something sometimes and then have to move things around. LOL I also wanted to mention that I tried to stagger the daylily bloom (mostly July bloom) in between the early June blooming Asiatic lilies & the late July blooming Orienpets, but tried to keep most things in the same red/yellow/cream color scheme because there is bound to be some overlap. The only exception was the New Dawn rose which is at the far south end near the fence - because that's the only space I have that is big enough. She can put out 20 foot long canes which I wrap around the corner walls on both sides. She has one main flush in early June and some scattered later bloom as does the clematis. The rebloom clashes a bit with the daylilies strong colors, but not enough to matter much. I am just mentioning all this to give you an idea of the progression that goes on in the bed through the season, even though it is a very narrow bed. I still have one cream-colored daylily , copper colored helenium, Orange Perfection phlox (not really orange in color) in bloom, along with some bronze-colored mums that are just starting & some rebloom on the spiderworts and clemmies. Oh, and I forgot to mention some blue berries on the Variegated Porcelain vine which is on the wall between two of the clems. Here are some of the daylilies. With various dls blooming at slightly different times, I get some nice punches of color over a period of about 6 weeks. Not boring waiting and watching for each to show its stuff. Francois Verhaert Larry Grace Royal Frosting Ruby Spider

I would say the more the better, like 10 hours or more. If 10-5 is all your can get, I guess you are at least covering the peak hours for sun intensity. Heat, water and fertilizer also impact inflo production. Kevin