For the winter I would definitely use hellebores (christmas/lenten rose) sasanqua camellias, perennial pentas, variegated ivies, there is a wonderful small philodendron called Xanadu that does well all year in heavy shade, coral bark japanese maple (deciduous, but the branches glow pink in the winter!) plectranthus does well all year (there are several varieties, I love the Mona Lavendar - common name is swedish ivy or creeping charlie) and I really love the beautiful cyclamens for lots of winter color. They do well in the shade as long as you don't overwater them.

yep same here with the cilantro! i got...maybe two small tufts of cilantro for all the seeds i planted....and now its spindly and flowers. a few weeks ago i just started some more and they sprouted fast. i think they will grow better with the later planting. its a little cooler here than there...but snow peas are defintely something i am planting now. this is a good time for them, but i can plant them whenever and they do good, or ok, any time of year. re: mulch - i have no idea if this will work better, but i am thinking it will. i think i let the sprouted carrots dry out, or??? idk exactly, but i have hard time with carrots, they are fussy. in general mulch is like magic and makes happy happy plants. =)thick mulch...freshy mulch, yeah plants really respond to this well. it also keeps it from drying out, holds in moisture, thats basically why i am thinking the carrots will like it. just to sprinkle the seeds on top. and totally with the staggered plantings, its for sure the way in this kind of climate. have keep it in mind to resist the temptation to start too many seeds of any one thing. i have a limited amount of space that is greenhouse like...so its always packed with plants.i move things around, outside and inside, and do some container gardening with that. this is the best way to get good peppers here and tomatoes.... i have a lot of potatoes in the ground, but i started some off in a big container and they are doing great. i might start off a couple of those....with different edibles. they are just plastic tub storage containers with holes drilled in the bottom. been throwing the potato bits in there as i use them, and the ones in the container are looking better than the ones in the ground. they are digging on the fluffy soil. and some of the stuff i plant would seem way out of season...i experiment a lot. and planting odd things at different times of year, some of it works and some of it doesnt. i dont always get as many sprouts but usually will get a few of each planting time (about once a month i start different seeds)...and then have some plants in different stages come spring. and i over winter whatever i can inside...get peppers ripening at variety of times.

Full Heart Batavian Endive is a great crop if you like your lettuces. Try sowing a little bit now, maybe a little bit in a couple months time. Thin the plants to 1', they will get big. When the outer leaves have spread out to about 1', tie a string around the plant to blanch it, it will speed up the ripening process.Here in S. Ontario, it usually will take about 10 weeks to mature.

Thanks for all those photos Silvia. I really appreciate the input. The violas are really so very sweet and you can't help but smile when you see them (a quote from my 4 yr old daughter) As far as the SunHosta, just by weird chance, I linked up to a local grower in Naples "American Farms" on Facebook. Holy moly they have some beautiful plants and a CROP of hosta growing. All their pics are amazing. Crenda, those stones will give off a lot of heat. I had luck with them around my palms where they get a tiny amount of shade but lots of air flow. The ones labeled "SunPatiens" did much better than the New Guinea Impatiens (which actually did say part shade). I got my 10 Amazon Dianthus in this morning and I LOVE THEM! :) Back to surf the American Farms photos and see what to look for next :) Oh and they have that Lady Phlox I mentioned above too, stating Phlox for florida! :) Here's their crop of SunHosta