Some great information on this thread. I am in the SF Bay Area, USDA zone 10a (according to the maps) or Sunset zone 16. Recently I've become interested in tropical and subtropical plants, and which species I might be able to grow in my yard. I do have some questions about the USDA zones though, I know they go by average low temperatures instead of extreme lows, so by that definition my zone should be 11, not 10a, because all the climate information I can find says that the lowest average temperature here is 40 degrees (December 28th through January 1st are statistically the coldest days of the year). Yet zone 10a is for average low temperatures between 30-35 degrees - which zone am I in? Temperatures in the mid- to upper-30s aren't uncommon at all here in the winter when cooler systems pass through, but drops into the 20s happen maybe 1-3 times a year. The lowest temperature I have recorded at my house is 27 degrees, and we have had snow once (about an inch or less) on one occasion in the past decade, that was sort of a freak incident. This is all pretty typical for Sunset zone 16, which I feel is a much better description of my area than USDA zone 10a. Using the Sunset zones is difficult though, because none of the nurseries here use them, and because they mainly describe where a plant grows best, not where it just grows. So now I'm left wondering what I can get away with in my area... As mentioned above, mature Strelitzia reginae is not an uncommon sight here in the Bay Area. Maybe it's not as common as in LA, but it's definitely here. I actually just planted one in my yard today, and I'm anxious to see how it does. I fully expect it to get a bit of frost damage in the winter, but that doesn't bother me at all as long as the plant itself lives. I was also considering putting a Dwarf Cavendish Banana in the same spot, but decided against it because they are apparently not as cold hardy, and that particular location can get a bit windy. I am interested in planting more subtropicals/hardy tropicals in my yard if I can. I know there are some particularly cold hardy bananas, so I'm going to look into those. Has anyone had success growing Passionfruit in the Bay Area? I love vines and particularly the flowers of Passiflora. I am also considering putting a Pineapple Guava if I can find a good place, since it would be nice to have something that bears fruit (I have a couple nectarine trees, but none of their fruits mature because of peach leaf curl that I can't get rid of).

I love my marble! We got ours from marble concepts in feasterville/trevose. We just used a remnant for an island. We had them cut it to size but we installed it ourselves so I cant really comment on how they are on the whole template/install process. But they were nice be they had a lot of to choose from.

I used Camelot kitchens in Pennington NJ. I shopped around and got a few designs and different prices. They were most willing to work with my budget-original quote was 30K but I went with only 10K in cabinets-very flexible. They can do it all-demo/drywall/cabinet installation to countertops. They sell brookhaven & woodmode and we are very satisfied. We worked with Tracy.

Here is "the Creme" (as my local tile store owner/fabricator put it): OHM Int'l, in Monroe Twp. (exit 8a on the NJ turnpike). We're outside of Philly and just went there a couple weekends ago. It was well worth the 1 hr. 20 minute trip. We made an appointment - you may need to check out whether you need to go thru a fabricator or if you can buy directly. It truly is AMAZING: it's an indoor HUGE warehouse of granites, quartzites and marble. You can check out their website at: ohmintl.com