• When Ponce de Leon claimed what is now the Sunshine State for the Spanish Crown in 1513, he named it "pascua de florida," or "feast of flowers." Five centuries later, Florida's flowers are as impressive as ever. Equally impressive, however, are the sun-loving evergreen plants that fill Florida's landscapes with green even when the state's heat and humidity are at their peak. Summer or winter, these plants are as refreshing as a tall, cold glass of Florida orange juice.
  
  

Firebush

• Firebush (Hamelia patens), a sun-loving evergreen shrub, grows across Florida. A 1 foot firebush shrub can reach 5 feet high in a single growing season, eventually standing 10 feet high and 6 feet wide. Most Florida gardeners, however, keep the plants trimmed to smaller dimensions, according to the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association Plant of the Year website. Between March and November, firebush draws butterflies and hummingbirds with its vivid, red-orange flowers.
  
  The tubular blooms complement foliage that progresses from reddish to speckled with red or purple over the course of the year. Clusters of edible, black berries that follow the flowers provide additional winter interest. While firebush tolerates shade, it performs poorly there. It handles hot, dry weather with supplemental water, but may experience leaf scorch in heavy winds. Southern Florida's alkaline soils pose no problems for firebush.
  
  

Pineapple Guava

• Because pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana) grows much more slowly than firebush, it is an easy-care, evergreen shrub useful in low hedges. Pineapple guava seldom exceeds 15 feet at maturity. It develops several trunks with dense, drooping. thorny branches. Their silvery-green leaves have downy undersides. The plant's red-stamened, pink-and-white spring flowers have edible petals. Pollinated flowers produce 1- to 3-inch, egg-shaped, green summer and autumn fruit.
  
  Delicious fresh, dried as fruit leather or processed into preserves, the fruit has a combined flavor of guava, pineapple and strawberry. Drought- and salt-tolerant pineapple guava handles temperatures to several degrees below freezing, according to University of Florida Extension's Professor Edward F. Gilman and Associate Professor Dennis G. Watson. It flowers and fruits most abundantly in full sun and well-drained, sandy or loamy soil.
  
  

Loblolly Bay

• Loblolly bay (Gordonia lisianthus), an evergreen tea family tree, grows anywhere from 30 to 80 feet high, according to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The amount of moisture it receives is the defining factor in its mature height. Most trees top out at between 30 and 60 feet. Between late spring and the first fall frost, Loblolly bay lights Florida's sunny wetlands with its showy, fragrant blooms. Their golden stamens and clear white petals stand out against dark green, glossy foliage. Up to 3 inches across, the camellialike flowers grow in eye-catching clusters at the ends of the tree's branches. Happiest in wet, rich, acidic locations, Loblolly bay develops as a shrub where soils are sandy and dry. Drought and winter wind are its worst enemies.