jerry sams

We live in Waterford Mich and I have heard that we are no longer zone 5 but have been elevated to zone 6a! What will this mean to us in terms of growing new things? And there in a place in Canada called Salt Island that is a micro climate which supports all kind of tropical plant life how do you explain this? and what do you think about growing camellis from Mobil Alabama up here? I am about to attempted it!