Kind of hard to shift mental gears and come up with non zone 9/10 plants, plus I've no experience with Japanese beetles here in California. On the other hand, some of those recommendations of plants which are tender perennials here, such as the Nicotiana sylvestris and the various Angelica species are also great performers here in the SF Bay Area. Along those lines, I'd also recommend tall accents such as Verbena bonariensis, Helleborus argutifolius if hardy for you, and that Fringe tree is also fantastic in bloom here. And surprisingly, Hostas can be grown well here if carefully sited by keeping well separated from the rest of a garden by wide swaths of pavement which limit snail access. I would look into some of the hardier Euphorbia species such as E. myrsinoides and E. rigida. Eryngiums are another group of perennials with that something "extra". A rather tropical touch can also be had by adding herbaceous perennials such as Hedychiums, Colocasias, Cannas(Canna 'Pacific Beauty' is a particular favorite for outrageous orange color). Check out the on-line catalog for Plant Delights Nursery or our local California Annie's Annuals Nursery for tempting unusual mail order listings; both ship across the country and both have excellent web sites with lots of photos.

UPDATE (2018): I dug up this Arabella sometime last season (I forget why) and threw it in a yucky plastic nursery pot where it got ignored. It remained in this not very nice exile all winter and still it easily survived (clearly this clemtis is extra hardy). Still not knowing where to put it in the ground in the spring I instead planted in an extra container. It looks straggly in a pot with the blooms more often than not mostly at the end of a stem but least it has a home.

Hi Amazin , sorry I'm new at this web stuff ( mostly just a lurker) and couldn't find were I wrote to you the 1st time ... me feel so dumb with this puter stuff... but yes I have 9 begonias and 6 are from Logee's, some are named and other are ( pass a along's ) ..... Named ones= Begonia " Richardsiana" B." Snow Capped " B. "Tea Rose" B. "Hot Tamale" B. "Good and Plenty " B, "Tiny Gem " B. " Silver Queen " The Richardsiana has in pass week took a big flop , and so not sure whats up with it , taken it back into house , hope it was just heat stroking from 100 + daze we have been in for pass couple of weeks here in nastyville , so not sure about it. Two other's unknown named ones but pretty just the same and last one I think mite be B. " Sophia Cecile " not sure. I see you have " My Special Angel " have been looking at it in the catalogs . sorry I'm so long winded.... but sure there must be something in your long list that we can work with . P.s. I wont make it to any plant swap so..... not sure how we would do this if we've a mind to ???? But thanks for your time and effort if thats the only way .

Received: Janet Arabella Phyllis Linda Karen Lori Lori316 Jessica Alison Nancy Terri Sue Katie Michelle Pauline Still waiting: Diana55 Shaun Catherine Brenda Stacie Maryanne Gina Adele Teresa May Cathy Diana Diane Janet Andi David Dolores Me