Well...I appreciate all your responses, and I'm going to assume it's a common garter snake...for my OWN peace of mind...LOL I believe he was so grumpy because of the flash from the camera...it probably scared the bejeezus out of'm. Plus...I'm wondering if it isn't the onset of hibernation time. I mean, afterall, he WAS way down under some pretty hard, clay covered by about 4" of mulch. He was probably sleeping...or getting his last full meal of night crawlers when I uncovered him. *I'm in SE PA, not Florida at the moment. He's gone now and I don't know where...hehehe...but I covered the hole back up with the mulch. BTW: When I let Picture it! automatically tweak the color and brightness levels, the colors of the snake were changed a bit. Here are two pics showing actual color...

Just take a look at this thread and comment there if you want. Thanks. Not very magnificent

There are definitely seedlings LOL. It's not going send a stolon 150' across the garden, especially a couple years after it was cut down! In fact I spotted a seedling yesterday and stopped myself from zapping it with glyphosate. I thought, 'heck, that gardenweb thread reminded me of how much I miss that plant'. I might leave it! The foliage does smell weird but only if you crush or rub it. It's not like Zanthoxylum simulans where on a hot day you can literally small the whole plant, and at some distance too. Toona 'Flamingo' is the same, but it seems more "smellable" on still humid nights. Like a strange mix beef and onion soup and burning rubber! 😱 FWIW pretty much all my camellias self seed now. Not to humble brag but I have high quality loamy soil so that probably helps these East Asian plants feel at home.

Hi David 👋 Thank you for the id. I have been reading a lot and I guessed that my first photo was a pubicalyx, I'm happy for the confirmation. Could the second one be cummingiana? I have picked up a few more, photos below. Krimson queen? Krimson princess? I could use an id for this last one. I've found similar photos that are labeled finlaysonii and clemensiorum, but I'm not sure which (if either) precisely match mine. Any thoughts? Thank you again, it's a pleasure 'meeting' you 🤗