My zone here in Georgia is zone 8. A few years ago, it was located in zone 7b, but I suspect due to global warming that the temperatures here have gotten a little hotter. I like living in Georgia’s climate. The winters for the most part are pretty short and mild, reaching as low as 20 or 30 degrees for a few weeks during the winter, and the growing season is long. And although most of the time there is no snow during the winter, this year we actually had a very wet and frosty winter with one very mild snow storm. The summers are humid which are great for tropical plants and ferns.
This is my zone back in 1990 when I was actually living in Virginia in zone 6. Macon GA was barely in zone 8 (more like zone 7b)
This is my zone in 2006. The warmer climates are moving up a little:
The challenge that I have noticed in living in zone 8 is that we are not quite tropical so many of the palms that strive in Florida are a little harder to grow here. We can very well have a mild winter or we can have a dangerous frosts during the winter which can kill some tropical plants, such as my sago palms, citronella and my cordyline this winter. For next year, I plan to be more prepared for the winter. I would like to buy a few plant covers for a few of my plants and I have been lightly potting some plants so that I can transport them inside during the winter. What I do like about this region is that it is warm enough to where some annuals actually come back the next year and act more like perennials. I also like the variety of plants that I can pick from. My zone allows me to take advantage of both heat and humidity loving plants as well as plants that can survive frost. Last year, I had no idea which plants to transport in and which ones to leave outside. I had a few plants that could not stand the winter, but this year I have learned a lot more about my plants and which ones need to be accommodated during the winter months. Yuccas, palmetto palms, succulents, chrysanthemums, and the like all do very well in my garden and survive the winter without problems. Other plants/trees that grow well here include gardenias, crepe myrtle, hibiscus (which is Hawaii’s national flower), elephant ears, trumpet plants, and many more. Make sure you know your zone before planting and check the seed packet to make sure your plants can grow in your zone!
Here is a list I found on the internet of plants that grow well in Zone 8: