Moving plants from pots into the ground

I decided it was time to get some potted plants planted in the landscape. The first to be planted were for the newly re-landscaped area: the windmill palm, abutilon, and choisya ternata 'Sundance'. I also planted Daphne odora on the hillside, just above the upper driveway area.
Some of the plants were root bound. The palm needed a lot of root trimming, as the roots were winding around the bottom of the pot. It should be pretty happy to be in the ground now! I'm happy to have fewer plants in pots - a bit less work ahead.
It's vitally important to thoroughly water newly planted shrubs - even if lots of rain is predicted. It is also important to plant at the same depth as it was in the pot, and to loosen roots, trimming as needed. 

Re-landscaped lower terrace on west side

With help from John and our neighbor, I removed six Red-Osier Dogwood shrubs that were taking over the bed. I've added some brightly colored flowering plants and some tropical-looking plants. My neighbors see this area more than I do, and they like bright flowers.

Here is the plant list for the area from my rose garden around the corner and to the end of the terraced bed:

3 Phormium – New Zealand Flax

Hibiscus sp. ‘Lord Baltimore’ 

Clematis ‘Kardinal Wyszynski’,  ‘Reiman’ & ‘Charissima’

Lupinus hybrid ’Gallery Blue’ & other varieties

Cottinus – smoke tree

Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’ – Mexican Orange

Hibiscus moscheutos ‘Midnight Marvel’

Vitis labrusca 'Catawba' & ‘Concord’ - grapes

Canna indica – several varieties of Canna lilies
Arbutus unedo
Trachycarpus fortunei - Windmill palm 

4Leucothoe fontanesiana ‘Rainbow’

Leycesteria Formosa – Himalayan honeysuckle

And we always plant Scarlet Runner beans here.

Lagerstroemia indica - Petite Orchid Crape Myrtle

I got two petite crape myrtle plants last October - an orchid and a red one. The 'red embers' is planted in the ground in my red/white/blue bed and is covered in buds and will bloom soon. The orchid crape myrtle is in a pot and pictured here:

What a year for late summer blooms!

Most of my gardening consists of wandering along my perennial beds and dead-heading spent blooms and trimming dead or diseased stems. I pull out the finished alstroemeria stems, which make room for new growth (they are a lot of work as this needs to be done frequently). Deadheading extends the bloom time for many plants, such as gaillardia, echinachea, and balloonflower.

The tropic-looking plants are looking fabulous now.

Here is a photo of my chicago fig tree, which is about 3 years old. I'm hoping the fruit will ripen this month.

 Here is the red banana and a variegated brugmansia, in pots next to the fig.

 Here is the "tropical" bed:

 This is one of two Hibiscus 'Lord Baltimore':