Danny, you've got a plethora of plants here, and I know some of our viewers know of some of 'em, and others don't because they're mostly Zone 8.

So, what do you have to share that can take this extra heat that we're enduring?

>>Yeah, so, as, you know, our growing conditions change, I really wanna iterate...

There's some fun plants here, but I really wanna iterate the importance of native plants.

And so the two that I'm gonna start with are natives, and the first is the wax myrtle, or sometimes known as bayberry, I believe.

And this is a great native shrub.

It has been in the Central Virginia area Zone 7 for a while, so it's pretty tried and true.

It's a very durable plant in a wide range of conditions.

>>Yes, yes.

But it gets very large at times, and some people don't have the room for that very large, you know, Myrica or wax myrtles.

>>Yeah, yeah.

Well, a benefit is that we have this cultivated variety here.

This is the same plant, it's just a cultivated variety selected for a shorter growth.

This is Strawberry Shortcake, and it has a lot of the same characteristics, but it maxes out at three feet.

>>Oh, that's excellent.

And I said Myrica before, it's Morella now, but we don't have to get into that.

>>Oh, they're changing all of the (indistinct) yeah.

>>All those names, all the time, yes.

But really, this is a great plant, and the deer don't eat it.

And very insects bother it.

And it can handle such a variety of conditions.

I love this plant.

I'm so glad you brought it.

>>It's, you know, from wet to dry conditions, especially once established, it's very durable.

And one of the benefits to it, as well, is it's great for birds.

And the leaves actually have a fragrance to it.

So if you ever prune it or just rub up against it as you're out in the garden, it has a really kind of nice bay smell to it.

>>It does, yes.

What else do you have to share with us?

>>Well, now I'm getting more of the zone pushing plants, things that we can start experimenting as we're experiencing warmer conditions.

This is a variegated shell ginger.

And many people might be familiar with this as an indoor plant or maybe as an annual.

But as our winters become more mild, this is gonna be more reliably a perennial plant.

It will die back down to the ground, but it should come back up from rootstock And I, did you grow this once before?

>>Yes, I did, I did, and it does.

And actually, I learned to put a little bit of extra mulch on the top of it if we were gonna have a cold winter.

>>Yeah, that little bit can really just help insulate the rootstock so it fleshes back out in the spring.

>>Yes, yes.

Plus, we have another one here.

>>Yeah, another zone pusher is this windmill palm.

And I really like this, you know, like the ginger, it's really adding that tropical foliage to the landscape.

You can use these as specimen plants.

Or if you get kind of a cluster of them together, it can really create a new sense of place in the garden.

>>About how big do they get, Danny?

>>Well, the windmill palm can get up to about 10 feet, I think, reliably before it gets so tall that it's got so much exposure it will potentially fail from a cold winter.

>>Will fail back from it?

>>Yeah.

>>I'm not familiar with growing this as well.

I've tried it so many times, and I've killed it so many times.

I'm just putting it out there.

>>Yeah.

Well, I suggest, like many of the plants that I brought today or that you might read about for zone pushing, to consider the site that you're putting it in.

If there's a little bit of protection, maybe by a wall that gets a lot of heat exposure, that'll thermally help protect the plant over cool nights.

>>For that microclimate, yeah.

>>That microclimate.

>>Excellent, and we've got a few more?

>>Yeah, we have a couple more plants, so this is the-- >>I'm gonna hand this one to you this way (chuckles).

>>Yeah, you have to be careful with this one.

This one bites a little bit, and I'm ashamed, there's a little bit of oxalis growing in here, which is kind of a weed.

But I don't know how to get in there without poking my fingers.

>>(chuckles) Yes.

>>But this is a agave quadricolor.

This is a really interesting plant.

It's got a lot of texture, really great color.

A key to this plant surviving winters in our region is it needs really well-drainage, really good drainage in the site that it's in.

So either in a container where you know you're gonna have good drainage, and the backup opportunity to bring it inside if it does get really cold on that off chance that you do experience a cooler winter.

Or, again, in the ground in a more well-drained site.

>>And how big does this one get?

>>These max out at about two feet.

>>Okay, that's a good size then.

>>Yeah.

>>And you know what, it's 100% deer-proof (chuckles).

>>I would say maybe even a deterrent from the rest of the garden hopefully.

>>Yes.

But this has a nice deer element, but so does this one because of its fragrance, our wonderful bay laurel.

>>Yeah, so, you know, we've talked a little bit about using native plants and the importance of that.

We've talked a little bit about pushing.

This is a native plant, I believe to the U.S.

This is the bay laurel.

And I really like this plant because it-- >>It's the Laurel nobilis, the bay.

>>The bay, thank you.

>>This is a culinary plant.

>>Exactly, yeah.

Well, and that was my next point, is, you know, how do we... We have all these visually interesting plants, but we can really engage our senses with some of the plant selections that we have, and this is a great example of that.

>>I love this plant.

It's a tall-growing evergreen.

You can outside, pick off your bay leaves, and put 'em in your soup and your stews.

And I've grown this plant at my house, as well as elsewhere for many, many years.

But it does take a cold snap, and it'll split that bark, and she's gone.

>>Yeah.

>>So it's like you were saying earlier, siting it well is very important.

Have you had experience with this one?

>>Actually, from where I'm from, back in Florida, we are able to grow this as a nice shrub, an evergreen shrub, and we don't have the challenges there.

But I'm really looking forward to getting to know it here in my new region.

>>Well, this is exciting.

You've got so many good things to learn plus great knowledge to bring as we're facing, you know, a warmer zone, cold hardiness zone here in Virginia.

And I thank you for sharing these.

This is great information.

>>You're welcome.

Thank you.

>>Yes.