This year, I plan to plant a lot of things I bought and kept in pots (until they got bigger) and I've been rethinking my plans of what kind of garden I want to make.

Since summers are very hot and humid here, and winters only somewhat colder than Southern climate places like Charleston, Carolina. It seems it would be much easier for me to imitate a Southern Style garden than a full out tropical one. So I did some research and it turns out I already own some of the plants that do well there. And I can get cold hardy versions of the other ones they have success with (that handle a freeze and hot humid summers)

My biggest obstacle seem to be that my soil is slightly alkaline clay where as they have acidic soil.

So my goals for this spring:

1. Create a Southern Style garden in my Backyard
2. Use broad evergreen plants and plants with big flowers as much as possible
3. Move in appropriately planted plants in the front, to garden beds with the right soil type in the backyard
4. Plant only things that have chance of surviving the winter outside (with protection in zone 6b)
5. Fix a Koi Pond (have one, but need to fix it) and plant around it.

The semi/tropical plants that I own and can use:
Most of these are under two feet right now.

Shrubs

1. Kleim's Hardy Gardenia (small)
2. 6 Azaleas and 4 Rhododendrons
3. 6 Camellias (pink and red)
4. Sambucus nigra (black lace)

Trees

1. Star Magnolia and Saucer Magnolia trees ( 3 feet)
2. Arbutus Unedo tree ( 6 feet)
3. 2 Chocolate mimosa trees (7 feet, and 4 feet)

Palms / Tropicals

1. 2 Windmill Palms (4 feet)
2. Chinese Fan Palm
3. Needle Palm
4. Blue Palmetto
5. 2 Bannana Plants
5. Bamboo (tiny now, but can grow 14 feet)
6. Yucca (not trunking)

Vines

1. 6x Trumpet Vines (red,orange and yellow)
2. Climbing Hydengea
3. Kiwiw Vine
4. Ivy and Blue Wisteria

I also have many large tropical potted plants that I can bring out in the summer.

My backyard is on the east side of my house and gets sun through most of the day.
Things I can't move are two spruce and pine trees and a red Japanese maple.

I need suggestions of what other plants I can buy for an authentic look.
I was thinking the following:

1. Crepe Myrtle
2. An Evergreen Magnolia
3. Hydrengeas
4. More gardenias - not sure if they can live here

I appreciate any suggestions and thoughts you may have, especially since I've never been to South Carolina 🙂
Also, what plants to group with each other in beds?
And if anything in my plant list does not fit the Southern look or won't survive winter?