Aspidistra is good, though slow ($$). there are some colored foliage cvs ($$$$) (but they may not be as tough? i don't recall ever seeing them ITRW) Iris foetidissima, another classic dry shade plant. Nephrolepis. will need some water. Aucuba (slow), will need some water. X fatshedera might fit better than fatsia. some water. Nandina should be good (kind of ugly, depending on taste). doesn't grow very fast. but i think will then survive with no water (in shade). the backside (garage wall) of Japanese boxwood might hollow out. slowish, and i think will then need a little water. Try Ruscus if you can order it. I saw it only once. looked nice tho maybe a bit boring. hmm, the blob of dirt under the garage window is not thoroughly dark. how long has the agave in the pot been there? Definitely get rid of the lawn under the trees. if you don't mind common stuff... English ivy is great under deciduous trees, water regularly until filling in (they'll love wood chips mulch). then slow irrigation, once a month during the hot months will be enough. keep it dry and it won't try climbing the trees very fast. privets :-) citrus (non dwarf) are very tough once established... Pittosporum tobira in lighter/dappled/part shade. winter bulbs are great under deciduous trees. narcissus/daffodils are cheap. leucojum grow similarly, but look different enough to be interesting. probably can't find them retail. they seem to flower despite more (winter) shade than narcissus will flower in.

Hello Everyone... I don't even know where to begin... Ok, I do know... ;-). Mike. Welcome back!!!! We/ I missed you.. I guess I missed your text to me. When you were MIA. ;-). I sent you one and I didn't hear form you, but I knew you would touch base when you were ready. I wanted to give you time, my friend. Soooo glad to see you posting again. That makes me happier than any bloom on this thread, but getting to the blooms .. OHHHH MMyyyyyy!!! How beautiful. Fragrant.. I have never seen such beauty. Congratulations!!! WES.. Always love your pics... Rosey, yours too... I wish I had some blooms right now. I have nothing.. ;-( Robert... I had to laugh at your room. I need to share with my DH so he won't send me off to some tiny island and say I'm missing... Lol. Everything you have is lovely... Fenius... Gorgeous.. I'm so jealous... Kandhi... New tree from FC? Can I ask what you ordered.. As I drool on the keyboard... LMAO!!! Sorry, but true... I always love to see your Jasmine pics.. Lovely!,, YES.. My Tuberoses came and they are potted up and I see some activity.. That makes me happy!!! Kemistry... Ohhhhh my!!! Getting the plume itch!!! Lol. I have had that itch for a long time, my friend.. I think Penang Peach is a must have. You will just love it for its fragrance as well as her beauty. BUY IT?? Mike... Glad to hear my Gardenia is going to bloom for you. This variety is an old heirloom type and is so large and fragrant. You will love it, I'm sure. Just glad you are doing well, my good friend!!! I have been busy keeping these people from stealing my pictures an using them on EBay to sell their Plumerias.. It has been a headache, but I finally got them to take my pictures down. I complained to the listing company on eBay and also filed a report with them. My friend who saw this has posted about them and the link on thenPlumeria forum as well as the Adeniums forum. They used my pic to sell their trees.. My greenhouse with the plumeria inside and then they took a pic from John at Jungle Jacks nursery and placed it next to mine... GRRRR... Ok, I'll stop. I have been working hard and as you can see it is late, but I wanted to stop by and say hello to you all.. I love this forum and all that post. You all are a great group and I just wanted to let you all know... Wes... I didn't know Paul liked granite? ;-). Must be in the "genes". Lol Take care, Laura

Robert, Based on my experience when a plant forms deformed buds/blooms it does not recover back to normal blooming. I had experience with 2-3 jasmine varieties. One of them I had with this issue for 2 years and I finally trashed it. Cannot give to anyone else as no one else wants a plant that does not bloom. Feel bad to trash such a healthy looking plant but due to space issue for indoor maiintenance I had to do that. Attached pics are this year blooms from logees flore plena that has double blooms similar to mysore molle and I noticed that as this variety ages the root and stem are getting stronger and blooms more.

H. scheideana blooms every year for me here in Berkeley, and is certainly evergreen in a wind protected and dappled shade setting, with lots of fertilizer and water as long as it doesn't freeze. It truly is adapted to our cool winter weather, because it pushes both flowers and new foliage for me even when temps get down into the hight 30'sF. There are also several other more commonly available species that will also do as well outdoors as long as the foliage doesn't freeze. These include H. latispatha, H. spissa, H. bourgeana, H. aurantiaca, H. matthiasae. Some of these can be bought online from suppliers such as Aloha Tropicals, or Stokes Tropicals in Louisiana. There are a few other suppliers in Southern California, but they don't ship. For those here in the SF Bay Area, getting the H. scheideana thru Monterey Bay Nursery is probably the easiest solution. Don't count on any of them flowering if you can't get the plant through the winter without freezing, as we just don't get hot enough to get blooms on new growth in less than a year, like they can in south Florida. Anyone growing 30 kinds of Heliconia in California has quite a collection, but I am willing to bet that over half of those varieties need a lot of help to get through a wet/cold winter, and are even less likely to survive year round outdoors here in northern California. If you stick with the kinds from higher elevation cloudforests in Southern Mexico, you can have thriving blooming clumps. Check out the Palmetum at Lake Merritt in Oakland to see a large clump of H. scheideana in bloom now. I do have some friends growing them in Sunset zone 15 conditions rather than 16 or 17, but you risk losing them to frost and never seeing them bloom.