Zone 9 (Alabama Gulf Coast) Costal / Tropical Flower Bed Idea?

This is searchable by county and has an extensive list of plants for the area. You can choose your county and go from there. It is annoying, though, because it doesn't have pictures.
Alabama Plant Atlas (Flora of Alabama)

I recently did a garden for someone with a corner courtyard-like space made from a north and east facing wall intersecting. I wanted to plant philodendron but read that its cold tolerance isn’t great. We substituted an upright elephant ear as the back corner tallest plant (a Fatsia Japonica was a possible alternative, due to better cold tolerance.) Next we put some hydrangeas (not tropical but always wanted to try), then some Autumn Fern (supposed to be cold tolerant), will maybe put some hostas, then caladiums. This is a mostly shaded bed with morning sun. We are also zone 9a.

Try some native grasses

Not sure how large an area you want but here goes:

Shampoo ginger
Piper auritum
Tropical or native passion vine
Florida Native Firebush
Agapanthus
Day lilies
Hardy Begonia
Bottlebrush (yellow is too cold sensitive for 9a, red, white, and pink are OK)
Crinum Lily
Ornamental Sweet potato vine
Camellias or Sasanquas for a faster growing version
Plumbago
Standard & Oakleaf hydrangea (trying a paniculata this year also)
Japanese flowering quince
I'm also trying cleyera "juliet" and "romeo" this year for the foliage

Palm-wise:
Most Sabals
Canary & Standard date Palms
Butia/Pindo Palm
Windmill Palm
Mule palm
Needle Palm
European Fan Palm
Washingtonias & hybrids


I have grown all the above, with no protection, in zone 8b about 2hrs from the coast. I've been doing this about 15 years, these plants have seen 18F and 3x consecutive nights of 19F. I won't say they've always passed with flying colors, but I've never lost them to cold.

If I lived where you are I would probably try anything hardy to 22-24F. Maybe rhapis excelsa or arenga engleri in the shade. Bismarckia palms are also gorgeous but seem to get wiped out every 5-10 years in zone 9a

If you want fruit, Just Fruits & Exotics nursery is near Tallahassee and has a huge list of trees for zone 9a on their website.

Also, were you growing philodendron bipinnatifidums? I've lost some weaker ones to cold before but usually they are monsters at the coast...7-8ft tall