Common fig, Ficus carica L., is one of the first specifically identifiable plants mentioned in the Bible. Adam and Eve made aprons of fig leaves to hide their nakedness after eating the forbidden fruit that was actually from the tree of knowledge of good and evil rather than a paradise apple, Malus pumila Mill. As a result of this reference nudity in art, especially Judeo-Christian religious art, is often concealed with fig leaves. I imagine that these fig leaf aprons were rather uncomfortable considering how rough fig leaves are besides the irritating milky sap typical of the mulberry family.
The fruit of figs is unique because the flowers are on the inside and each species of fig is pollinated by what is often a specific species of fig wasp. You don't have to worry about being stung by fig wasps, besides them being so tiny if they even do sting, because there are none in this area since they are not necessary due to our fig trees bearing fruit through parthenogenesis, which means that pollination is not required for the fruit to mature. A variety of fig requiring pollination was introduced into California by Spanish missions, but they never bore fruit until it was finally realized that both inedible hermaphrodite caprifigs and fig wasp were required to pollinate these figs, which now bring a premium price despite claims that each one has a dead fig wasp inside. The best way I know of describing fig fruit, known as a syconium, is sweet and mushy where the form is like a mulberry, Morus L., turned inside out and swollen up like a strawberry. In a way it is a shame that the only way most people have ever eaten a fig is in a fig newton.
Only a couple of older cold hardy cultivars are widely known in this area, but several new ones have recently been developed. A good way to find out about them is through the Agriculture Extension Service which include experimental stations including one in Chilton County near Jemison, Alabama, that has a Expo in early August that features fruit tasting that includes figs, heirloom tomatoes, muscadines, and of course the peaches for which Chilton county is famous. This is the best way to select a variety of fig to grow, because you do not want to waste any time growing a fig to only find out that you don't like how it taste.
The cold hardiness of even the most cold hardy fig cultivar is marginal in zone 7. Late spring freezes often nip the just emerging leaves, but this can result in branching and thus a larger harvest. In an extreme situation there can be significant die-back going as far as to the ground. This is even possible for fig dormant trees if the winter is especially severe such as when the temperatures are near all time record lows or are below zero for extended periods. To minimize this risk figs are often planted next to a structure so that some freeze protection is imparted. Wrapping trees with blankets only works if the blankets extend to the ground which acts as a heat source.