[lrt's friend]

What we are seeing is Trachycarpus fortunei, the Chinese Fan Palm. It is well adapted to cool summer climates.
There are one or two other species of Trachycarpus with similar hardiness including Trachycarpus takil. I believe a few other palms are being experimented with in BC. I am not surprised that people are trialing Trachycarpus in the Niagara region but we will see if it is long lived there.

The Needle Palm from the SE USA is widely believed to be the hardiest of all palms followed by Sabal minor but are not as well adapted to the cool west coast climate. Both of these palms can be grown as shrubs quite far north on the east coast.

By the way, Washingtonia filifera and Washingtonia robusta are native to parts of Southern California and they are the familiar and widely grown fan palms grown there.

As far as bananas are concerned, the hardiest species are Musa basjoo and Musa sikkamensis. Both of these can be grown in Ottawa and Montreal with proper siting and mulching. The purple leafed Ensete maurelii and striped leafed bananas are not hardy in Ontario. Another banana, Musella lasiocarpa is supposed to be quite hardy, but failed trials locally. I am sure it will grow in BC.

I am always thrilled to see 'sub-tropicals' successfully integrated into the landscape in temperate climates. Great photos!