Perennials for Hot Gardens and Hot Gardeners!

      At a recent horticulture trade show, I was on a mission to find starts of Salvia 'Amistad' - a gorgeous guarantica hybrid with fluid, dark purple flowers.  My colleague and I approached a liner farm with an excellent reputation and an equally excellent repertoire of plant varieties, and we asked about the salvia on our wishlist.  After we explained the genetics, noting that it would probably not be hardy north of zone 7, we were told "We only grow REAL perennials."  Well how about that?!  According to the Royal Horticulture Society, the definition of an herbaceous perennial is: a non-woody plant that dies back to a rootstock each autumn and regrows in the following spring.  Ummm...'Amistad' does exactly that for me - square in my zone 8b garden - and it's not a REAL perennial?!?  Harrumph!

     So here it is: Southern Gardeners are DONE with the zone 6 perennial mafia pushing us around.  I personally promise to dedicate my work, trials, blogs and posts to HEAT and HUMIDITY tolerant perennials that are reliably hardy in zones 8, 9 and 10, with strong recognition for those hardy in zone 7 as well.  It's our time Southern Gardeners!  Let's grow what works for us, share new perennials that fit our criteria, and be darn proud of our southern roots - pun intended!
     I encourage you all to tag photos and posts about perennials that work in the southeastern United States with #zone8mafia so our voices begin to unify and those silly Yankees heed our call and take notice!