I am avoiding winter in central NY by renting a house on the FL panhandle till the end of Feb. The weather is driving me crazy - I absolutely have to be out working in the yard, but my yard is 1200 miles away. So in the back yard of my rental house there is a spot that someone used to have a shrub in and that has a little brick border. I'm working on turning that into a little garden that will hopefully survive until I return here next winter.

Here are the conditions for the proposed garden:
- It's about 5 ft above and 6 ft from the edge of a tidal pond.
- It's under the outer fringe of a large live oak, but not completely - so it gets some protection from the infrequent frost.
- It's sand w/ some organic matter - presumably years of rotted oak leaves.
- In winter it gets morning sun & late afternoon sun. I assume it will get much more come summertime, but I've never been here past March so I have no idea.
- It will probably get absolutely no care until I return next winter.

I know something was able to grow there because I dug out the stump of a large shrub that had been cut down. (Don't know which came first - cutting down or dieing.)

Would succulents survive, do you think? Or would there not be enough sun for them. I want to keep it low to the ground so it doesn't obstruct the view. Have I just spent half a day preparing a spot where nothing will survive, or is there something that might make it here? Thanks for any suggestions!

Becky