It's fascinating to know you grow some of the same plants we do here in West Virginia. I'm sure we don't treat them the same, though. Never having been to Hawaii, I always pictured soft rain, mostly blue, clear skies, and plenty of tropical plants that we'd never think of growing in our gardens.
We plant Canna in the spring, let them grow until first heavy frost and then pot them up and store them overwinter. I've tried leaving them in the ground but find that unless they're really well protected, the bulbs rot.
We do have cold-hardy azaleas and camellias, both deciduous but beautiful in the spring. I just ordered a red camellia for a front garden and have an azalea to get into the ground as soon as the rain stops and the ground dries enough to plant it.
Will check back now and then to see how your gardens grow.
