If we lived in a warmer climate, we might be interested in a tidbit of information I received in my mailbox at home last week. We also might be interested if we had a winter home in Florida or a greenhouse that needed filled for winter, provided we own our own oil company and can afford to heat it. I was excited when I first saw the press release with the 2009 plant collection from Southern Living magazine and Athens Select, a program of heat- and humidity-tolerant plants. My excitement turned to disappointment; however, when I read the brochure and learned that all of the plants were hardy to zones 7 to 11. Zone 7, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness map, encompasses parts of eastern North Carolina and southward. Upon further examination of the brochure, I was hit with a realization that might have occurred a lot sooner to sharper minds than myself; we already grow many of these plants, but we treat them as annuals.