And he was a landscape gardener!!!!! And they own the property above us and we have talked many times about how low the temp gets. But then again they let their horse starve three times, each time rescued by me. Jane, speaking of hibiscus, a really good plant for frost and heat is Hibiscus syraceusis spelling?????? In other words deciduous hibiscus and you prob already know it. I have grown them from cuttings. They flower mid to late summer and I have had flowers still on the tree at Queen's Birthday weekend. The common one has large mauve flowers with a crimson centre and it grows quite big but it is easily kept smaller and will bush up. I grew the double "Princess Diana" from a cutting from drought stressed tres in our library carpark and it is thriving.It is a double white with a crimson centre. I can guarantee they are "Anything Proof." Having no leaves in winter is handy too and even tho not a native I have had native birds nest in mine. It is a real little oasis in a dry garden. Some of the varieties have really tiny flowers like little rosettes and can be pink, but the good old fashioned mauve one is great. The other shrub I have had luck with in our similar climates.... I think you are in Orange... is Philadelphus virginalis, but NOT Mexican Orange. I have that too and it struggles through summer but the other is beautiful and smells like scented lemons when flowering. Pam