My brugmansia came back after the summer heat. Here it is right now and it's getting quite big. It does very well in the shade and it's been giving me quite a lot of flowers lately. Yes, elephant ears work here. I'd suggest getting some from the alocasia family, not colocasias. I've tried colocasias, they grow well in the spring and fall but they just cannot take the heat at all in the summer, in my experience. Here's one of my Borneo Giants in full shade They will die back when it hit below freezing for more than a couple hours, but if that happens, don't water them again for the rest of the winter or else the bulb will rot. Just wait for them to pop back up in spring. Same thing with Cannas. If you're going for tropical, get some Cannas, since they LOVE being in full sun here. another one I'd recommend is the Chinese Parasol Tree. Big foliage and can take some sun. I have mine in morning sun/full shade in the afternoon. The plant loses its leave in the winter and goes dormant. Here's mine now after a week from coming back from dormancy. It's already grown about 6+ inches! Birds of paradise are great as well here in Phoenix. They're frost hardy down to 25-26f I believe. Split-leaf Philodendron are great as well. Just plant them in the shade. Plus you can find these easily at HD or Lowes. I wouldn't risk planting a castor bean though since you have pets. They drop a lot of those red spiny bean pods all over, and from what I've read are very poisonous. I'm not sure about the brug's toxicity though. Their flowers might be poisonous?

Hey Ladies, Thanks for thinking of me. Sadly I may have to find homes for some of my plants. This house and yard are "so small". I may rip out the stuff there and bring "my" stuff, from my gardenweb pals. Helen, the tithonia has been blooming it's head off. I having been cutting flowers to take to work everyother day. They really brighten the place up. Cool yellow!! Everyone thinks they are giant gerber daisies. Kristi, the hibiscus has finally bloomed. Wow!!! Love the color. Other than that, just working and going to school. Got promoted to manager at the K-9 Boutique. Talk about great therapy, working with dogs. : ) Tropicalfreak

Awesome looking yard!! Thanks for the update! What kind of cannas are those. Im bought omega and intrigue in Late august to put in the ground this spring. They havent grown much so Im hoping that when spring comes they do actually grow and they dont sit there and wither away. The cactus, Majesty palm, Dioons, Norfolk Island pine, and everything else, all look really healthy! What are your plans for the Dioons once they go indoors? I just took mine inside today into the garage. It very very rarely goes below freezing (I think only 2 times in the last 10 years), but there isnt any sun and it is cold. Im trying to prevent it from flushing until spring because my sago palm has a terrible habit of flushing when indoors (even in bad conditions). Good luck! Hopefully there wont be a frost tonight!! -Alex

It isn't a night scented jasmine either according to the employess there. In fact they sell tons of cuttings to the night time blooming ones..It is something else, and I will find out hopefully by the end of the day...Tyhe fragrance emits all day too... I like the idea of trying to root it.Thanks alot everyone still... Mike