Welcome to the forum, Nyrita. I can imagine this is a big adjustment for you - I'd like to suggest that you look around the area in which you now live and get an idea of what does grow well there.
Take shade, soil type into consideration, of course and don't discount the idea of just walking up and asking a homeowner about their gardening.
I have a question for you - do you have a tulsi
plant? I realize that's the holy
plant - I got some
seeds from a Hari Krsna settlement in B. C. when I was there in 2003 visiting my daughter.
I took some
seeds home with me, but never got anywhere with them. I realize now that I should have grown it in the house and given it a separate place, in a terranium or something.
Do you have
seeds? Would you consider sending some to me? If so, pop me a message on the PM here.
Thanks in advance.