As you amy already know, Goodwater is about 60 miles out of Birmingham. It is south and east. This is not a good year to do this unless ther is someone who can water the plants all summer. We are in the midst of a severe drought. If you can plant shrubs, I would suggest gardenias. If you are looking for bushy perennials which will die back each winter, I suggest a winter hardy lantana or a turk's turban malvaviscus. Finally, if you are just looking for flowers, why not echenacia or rudbeckia.

If you want something that will come back for years and years and need little care, I recommend daylilies. I agree though that this is not the year to do it. We're having a tough time with drought all through the Southeast.

I'm thinking bulbs also. Asiatic lilies, red spider lilies for the fall and for the ultimate drought tolerant plant, crinum!

Daffodils might also be a consideration. You could get the very early blooming ones, some mid-season, and late bloomers. Some of the sedums are also very tough. I have some which I don't know the name of, and I don't think you could kill it if you wanted to.

Thanks guys for your help. I am going looking in a few weeks for some of your suggestions so we will see. Will definitely plant something when I come down since I'm too far away. Hopefully it lasts until I make it back down again. Once again....thanks

if anyone thinks of something to plant IN the urn that will not need tending to, let me know - only thing i can think of at this point would be a cactus of some sort.....my mother LOVED to garden, and would much rather have something LIVING in the urns i had put on her headstone than the fake flowers i put up there each season. The church won't let me plant anything there....