there are hardy bananas! :o) and if you have some shade, clerodendrons, and cannas....

There are plenty of plants that will give you the "tropical look" while still being hardy for your climate. None of them need your special misting and many of them are actually quite drought tolerant.

MEDIUM SHRUBS --

Abutilopn hybrids FLOWERING MAPLE
Camellia sasanqua (and related) SMALL CAMELLIAS
Cordyline stricta AUSTRALIAN TI PLANT
Fuchsia triphylla SHRUB FUCHSIA
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (hardiest: Agnes GaltÂ, ÂBrilliantÂ, ÂCrown of BohemiaÂ,
ÂRoss EsteyÂ, ÂWhite WingsÂ) HIBISCUS
Malvaviscus arboreus TURKÂS CAP
Salvia darcyi RED MOUNTAIN SAGE
Salvia regla MOUTAIN SAGE

SUBSHRUBS--

Impatiens sodenii (I. oliveri) POOR-MANÂS RHODODENDRON
Lobelia laxiflora angustifolia MEXICAN LOBELIA
Melianthus major HONEY BUSH
Rusellia equisetiformis FIRECRACKER PLANT
Thunbergia battiscombei SCRAMBLING SKYFLOWER
Trachelium caeruleum BLUE THROATWORT

SMALL VINES--

Asarina antirrhinifolia VIOLET TWINING SNAPDRAGON
Asarina barclaiana MEXICAN VIPER
Bauhinia corymbosa CLIMBING BAUHINIA
Hibbertia scandens GUINEA GOLD VINE
Lapageria rosea CHILEAN BELLFLOWER, COPIHUE
Maurandya barclaiana CLIMBING SNAPDRAGON

LARGE PERENNIALS --

Alpinia zerumbet SHELL GINGER
Anigozanthos species and hybrids KANGAROO PAW
Hedyciuim coronarium WHITE GINGER
Hedychium gardnerianum KAHILI GINGER
Musella lasiocarpa HARDY "BANANA"
Phormium species and hybrids NEW ZEALAND FLAX
Salvia involucrata ROSELEAF SAGE
Salvia guaranitica BLUE ANISE SAGE
Strelitzia reginae BIRD-OF-PARADISE
Zantedeschia 'Green Goddess', 'Hercules'

SMALL-MEDIUM PERENNIALS --

Asparagus densiflorus ÂMeyeriÂ, ÂSprengeri ASPARAGUS FERNS
Astelia chathamica SILVER SPEAR
Begonia grandis HARDY BEGONIA
Bergenia cordifolia, B. crasifolia BERGENIA
Clivia miniata KAFFIR LILY
Cymbidium hybrids CYMBIDIUM ORCHID
Dianella intermedia NEW ZEALAND BLUEBERRY
Epipactis gigantea HELLEBORINE
Liriope muscari BLUE LILYTURF
Ophiopogan jaburans GIANT LILYTURF
Salvia buchananii BUCHANANÂS FUCHSIA SAGE
Setaria palmifolia PALM GRASS
Tradescantia pallida ÂPurpurea PURPLE HEART

GRASSES AND GRASSLIKE PLANTS --

Austrostipa ramosissima AUSTRALIAN PLUME GRASS
Baumea rubiginosa ÂVariegata STRIPED RUSH
Carex dissita BUSH SEDGE
Carex phyllocephala 'Sparkler' SPARKLER SEDGE
Chondropetalum giganteum GIANT CAPE RUSH
Chondropetalum tectorum CAPE RUSH
Elegia capensis BROOM REED
Elegia equisetacea HORSETAIL RESTIO
Juncus effusus ÂSpiralis SPIRAL SOFT RUSH
Ophiopogon planiscapus ÂNigrescens BLACK MONDO GRASS
Rhodocoma capensis ELEGANT RESTIO
Rhodocoma gigantea DEKRIET, BAMBOO RESTIO

FERNS --

Cyrtomium falcatum HOLLY FERN
Pyrrosia lingua JAPANESE TONGUE FERN

HARDIEST BROMELIADS --

Aechmea recurvata and vars. benrathii and ortgiesii
Billbergia distachia and var. maculata
Billbergia nutans
Billbergia pyramidalis and var. striata
Billbergia ÂSanta BarbaraÂ
Bromelia balansae
Dyckia ferox
Dyckia fosteriana
Dyckia fosteriana x brevifolia
Fasicularia pitcairnifolia
Puya alpestris
Puya berteroniana
Puya chilensis
Puya raimondii
Puya spathacea
Tillandsia grandis
Tillandsia ionantha
Tillandsia recurvata

Joe

Look at plants from the "elephant ear" families...Colocasia, Allocasia
Papyrus
Calla lillies
Day lillies

I have Azara micophylla, Kniphofia (red hot poker)
Tuberose, Black Calla, Salvia patens, Japanese iris, Variegated Azara, Baby tears and creeping Jenny (lysomachia nummularia) among others around mine.

A few smaller palms with a maximum height of 10-20 ft. that might lend themselves to your project:

Phoenix roebelenii, takes low of 25F, max. height about 10 ft, nice and feathery, but with spines at base of fronds, (not kid friendly), easy to find. Full sun. Nice planted in groups.

Dypsis baronii or Dypsis lutescens, takes low temp. to 28F, multi-trunked, nice rings on trunk, elegant feather palm to max. 20 ft. Baronii is green, lutescens has yellow petioles and trunk, fronds will yellow in cold. Probably best in part shade. Might be harder to find; check Lowe's.

Chamaedorea elegans, the old parlor palm. Shade, short sun exposure ok. Tolerates lows to about 26F. Will not exceed 6 ft. I have one several years old, it's maybe 3 ft. Nice dark green feather palm, very tropical looking. Look in houseplants. Chamaedorea cataractum, with multiple stems in pot, looks similar but isn't as cold hardy, needs *lots* of water.

Rhapis excelsa, or Lady Palm. Expensive. Beautiful dark green fan palm with an elegant "drape" to the fans. Shade, low temps to low 20's. You see these in hotel lobbies a lot, we should use them in our gardens more. Height to about 10 ft. some varieties taller, slow growing. Readily available at HD, at least around here.

All palms require good drainage, attention to soil preparation is a must.

You could always set colorful neoregelia or aechmea bromeliads out in pots (I sometimes tuck the pots into the ground or mulch) in summer and bring them indoors when the weather gets too cool for them. They will need at least part shade, or filtered light; a few varieties like full sun.

Aechmea blanchetiana and no-name tillandsia:
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Quesnelia quesneliana blooming over neoregelia concentrica hybrids:
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I'd want plants near a pond to be low-litter, so that constant cleanup of the pond is not required. Something to keep in mind.