Post #175383 by TikiKini on Thu, Jul 28, 2005 11:47 AM

This post inspired me to do a little shopping on Amazon -- in the mail yesterday: Tropical Plants for Home and Garden by William Warren, Paradise Found by Norman Winter, and Landscaping with Tropical Plants by Sunset Mag. I stayed up late flipping through these and dreaming of my garden...
The Warren book is gorgeous with lots of great photos but no info on the plants or design ideas (other than the included pictures) -- beautiful coffee table book though. The Sunset book is helpful with good photos -- chapters include tropicals for every clime, designing with tropical flair, getting started, summer maintenance and winter care, and an A-Z sampler of plants. But my fave book of the three is Paradise Found. LOTS of plants listed with pictures of each, info on growing zones, how and where to plant, growing tips, recommended varieties and landscape applications. Also chapters on container gardening, cold protection, soil prep, and peppers (with some recipes even!).
So now that we've ripped out the rock gardens and started building retaining walls and patios, I'm trying to figure out what to plant where. I've already got 8 hibiscus in pots that survived last winter, plus a bird of paradise and some other assorted plants that are waiting for a home.
I'm in Castro Valley -- I think Sunset zone 14 and USDA zone 9 or 10? We have a small squarish yard in front and a rectangle in the back (18 X 60). I keep looking at everyone else's photos for ideas...