Portland (USDA zone 8) has a much milder climate than Southern Connecticut (zone 6), where I grew up and have done most of my gardening.

I was looking out the window of a local coffee shop the other day and I saw several plants that are too tender for my former home, but thrive in Portland. Here is a partial list of plants I've seen in Portland gardens that are not possible (or well nigh impossible) to grow outside in Connecticut:

1. Gardenias! (a houseplant in CT)
   


2. Edible figs (may be grown with protection in CT)
   


3. Crape myrtles
   


4. Hardy fuchsias
   


5. Pampas grass
   


6. Passionflower vines (beyond May-pops)
   


7. Southern magnolias
   


8. Noisette and tea roses (beyond hybrid teas)
   


9. Fatsias (a houseplant in CT)
   


10. Flowering maples (Abutilon, a houseplant in CT)
    


11. Pittosporum (a houseplant in CT)
    


12. ...hmmm, there must be others I can't think of right now.