The sandy soil of the southern coast of Georgia is a lot different from some of the hard packed clay soil of southwest Georgia. You are going to need things that will stand hot days AND nights with long periods between rains.

You best bet would be to find out what is doing well in her neighborhood. Roses do well around Thomasville. They don't do well where I am because of the acid soil and root nematodes.

Common items include Camellias and Gardenias, as they are evergreen and the former flower during the cooler seasons. Serenoa repens and Sabal minor are fully cold hardy. Rosemary is a popular herb.

Check out the book "The Book of Lists". I don't recall the author but it's a "must have" for the SE.

Excellent book I found- Garden Perennials for the Coastal South by Barbara J. Sullivan. Great for us down here by Savannah.

Thank you for the suggestions of books and plants. She lives in Thomasville and I hope to use lots of roses and rosemary.

One of my favorites is Virginia Sweetspire. It's a vigorous native. It has moderately showy flowers and very good fall color that persists for quite a while. Drops leaves late, Gets them back early. Very fast growing. I'm a sucker for hydrangeas too. Oakleaf hydrangea at the very least would work down there.

Oh. And dwarf yaupon hollies have a neat effect when they grow together to form perfectly smooth mounds.

lowbush blueberries. in addition to being food plants they are highly decorative, in my opinion, especially some of the newer cultivars.

Thank you all you Ga gardeners for these great suggestions. I too am a sucker for Hydrandeas and I hope to use them in this garden I am doing. What about Nadinia does that do well in Ga? What Viburnums would you recommend? Thanks again Lynn

Nandina does too well in Georgia and the berries become an invasive issue in natural areas. There are some berry-less cultivars, I think.

Lots of viburnums do well. Some of the native ones are viburnum dentatum, viburnum nudum, and viburnum acerifolium. There are some nice cultivars of these available in the trade now. While doublefile viburnum turns a lot of heads with showy flowers, I find that it is prone to wilting if it doesn't get the (excessive) amount of water that it needs as a youngster.