Get some gingers and cannas, Ann. They're just starting to come into their own about now, love the heat and rain, and will keep going (if you can keep watering them) well into the fall.
A thick mulch will hold most of them through the winter if you don't want to lift them.
This Hedychium 'Dr. Moy' is just about my favorite plant in the garden. No pests, comes back and multiplies every year, blooms for months, smells divine. The pretty variegated foliage is a bonus. It does like a little bit of shade in the afternoon, but other than that, no fuss. Cannas are a bit more trouble, get rusty fungus and need more fert and water, but equally great at flowering through the heat of summer.
Btw, I had Echinacea planted around my mailbox and the ones in full sun sat and pouted while the ones on the east side of the little pygmy date palm that just got morning sun did great. I think that's one of those plants that says "full sun" that really means "full sun but not in Florida". Lots of plants including my landscape roses are like that. Love some shade through mid-day in the summer.
