My guess is, that what goes around the southern France, Italy or Greece, will also go in that space. Hot summers and cold, but still rather mild winters. Stuff like Bourgonvilla might die down in the winter, but would perk right back up, in the spring! Stuff that goes outside, but has a short blooming period out there, might get a longer period inside (how does the smell of moonflowers from early July to mid November sound to you?). Eucalyptus might die down the first couple of winters, but will in time get very strong and tall. I think a bay-leaf would do well year round. Peaches and grapevines would do great as well, no doubt about that. Figs too. Passiflora actinia and caerulea plus some of the hybrids can withstand down to -8c/ 18f. I÷m envious!

The sun shouldn't have killed any plants from seeds you sowed directly in the soil, unless the ground was very dry -farmers plant seeds in the open ground with no protection. Might have been slugs, cutworms or damping off fungus, although damping off doesn't usually occur in the open ground. You'll need to harden off the plants you purchase - expose them gradually to sun and the cold of night over a week or two. You start them with just a couple hours of morning sun, until you get them up to full sun. Some of your plants look like they have yellowing veins, which you might google on. Since it seems to occur in different kinds of plants, it's more likely to be a nutritional deficiency than a disease. But don't over fertilize. Your prepared bed looks great.

Yes you can use cardboard/newspaper between the plants, layer some organics, and then top with something visually appealing (chopped leaves, straw, leaf mould). In such a case personally I wouldn't make the layers too deep (3-4 inches). A brand new lasagne can be layered as deep as 10-12" but my experience is that if you plant right away in the bed the roots of the plants need to contact the soil to get a good hold. Organic layers compress as they decompose which can leave a plant high and dry. I don't think being a little low is a big problem (except perhaps plants that need excellent drainage). Try to mulch AFTER a good soaking rain or watering to conserve the moisture in the soil. Check out the Ruth Stout method of mulching - she mulched very deep and it wasn't a problem for her plants. Don't hesitate to use the Soil, compost, and mulch forum as a resource to search or post, probably would search first as they are zillions of posts on any given subject. That is a forum full of compost whackos. :)

I just noticed that forum - itÂs starting out well. It looks like there will be posts on tropical fruit trees which I hope will continue.