I think that same issue of Mother Earth News has a list of top favorite vegetables to grow in home gardens, divided up in different regions of the country -- including the Gulf Coast!
Kurt, I think most of our locally owned nurseries offer or can order beautyberry.
Wax myrtle -- another hard-to-kill native -- is also said to repel insect pests, including fleas. It fixes nitrogen too, and can reduce or eliminate the need to add petrochemical-derived nitrogen.