Hi Mike, Welcome to the Party! We provide virtual pillows for headaches gotten when bang-head-on-wall takes place. I'd guess that your wife doesn't garden either... so it's going to be up to you :) VB is officially plant zone 7B, but you'll have better luck buying plants that are happy in zone 8. Azaleas require some shade, the farther south you are, the more shade.. I'm zone 6B and put them in areas that are shady at least 1/2 the day. Established azaleas can do well even with little water, but do give them at least 5 gallons per inch-thickness at the plant's base if your area doesn't get an inch of rain for a month (yes, include 'winter'). Do keep their root area well-mulched with non-treated shredded leaves, wood chips, or bark. Portulacas demand full sun, all day. They do best in sandy well-drained soil, and water deeply once a week if it doesn't rain (deeply means you get a wet finger if you stick it in soil up to the knuckle). You and I are far enough south that most gardenias are considered perennial. Gardenias are noted for being persnickety: if the plant likes you it will do fine in sun to light shade, lightly mulched, and watered when the soil is dry. If the gardenia doesn't like you, buy a spirea which will bloom freely although scentless because spireas like anybody who will water them in drought, while nobody can convince a gardenia to bloom if it doesn't feel like it. If you bought the gardenia at a nursery, do get a replacement just in case the next gardenia likes you better. Notice that either your azaleas or the portulaca will be unhappy with the amount of sun available.

We have the deer herd also,Cameron , supplemented this year by an explosion in the cottontail population. Could be because the fox families have moved and the barred owls have been run off by the great horned variety that like a larger territory for just one breeding pair. At any rate, I have lots of beds of ice plant and it is fine. It's the purslane that got decimated repeatedly until I just carved up some Irish Spring soap and spread it around. In prepared beds with loosened soil the fawns would grab hold and just pull the plants out of the ground. A couple of nibbles and they'd walk away. Constantly replanting these same plants. But the soap chips really helped and Irish Spring is really scented..don't store it where you have food in cartons or the scent will get in that stuff too.

Can someone take a look at these leaf troubles too. What's wrong? Is this rust? The leaf becomes like this eventually.

Portulaca plants are very unlikely to overwinter unless you have a heated greenhouse. The ones that do come back are seedlings and not last year's plant. The large one that John mentioned is called Samba and it is much easier to overwinter inside. I still have the original version, Giant Bicolor Radiance, which can have 3 different color flowers on the same plant. Bottom line, if you have one you like and it makes seeds, save them and replant next spring or bring a plant in to a warm sunny spot and water it very sparingly.