Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

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Surprising Miniature Gardenia. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Surprising Miniature Gardenia

Gardenia radicans - Dwarf Miniature Creeping Gardenia

Gardenia radicans - Dwarf Miniature Creeping Gardenia

Gardenia radicans - Dwarf Miniature Creeping Gardenia

Gardenia radicans - Dwarf Miniature Creeping Gardenia

Gardenia radicans - Dwarf Miniature Creeping Gardenia

Gardenia radicans - Dwarf Miniature Creeping Gardenia

💮 Surprising Miniature Gardenia
  • Gardenia radicans - Dwarf Miniature Creeping Gardenia - can surprise even longtime gardenia fans. It has all the charm of the classic shrub - glossy green leaves, pure white flowers, and that unforgettable fragrance - but in a smaller, easier form.
  • Natural bonsai. This little plant grows low and wide, staying under 1-2 feet tall and spreading up to 3-4 feet. It forms a dense mound or creeping groundcover that looks great along walkways or spilling from a pot. The leaves are tiny and shiny, giving it a neat, polished look all year.
  • The flowers are about an inch across, double or semi-double, and smell just like the full-size gardenia. They bloom in spring and often return through summer, filling the air with perfume.
  • Easier than other gardenias. Gardenia radicans isn’t as fussy as most gardenias. It can handle clay, sandy, or loamy soil as long as it drains well. Once established, it’s fairly drought-tolerant and can even handle some cold, down to around 15F in protected spots.
  • Where to plant. It's perfect for small gardens, patios, or as a bonsai. You get the luxury fragrance of a gardenia without needing a big space. Use it as a groundcover, edging plant, or container specimen. It's one of those plants that stays tidy, looks refined, and keeps blooming. For anyone who loves gardenias but wants something compact and low-maintenance, Gardenia radicans is a great find.


🛒 Add unique Mini-Gardenia to your collection

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden

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A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

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Quisqualis vine - Rangoon Creeper

How we turned an eyesore into a wall of flowers
  • Quisqualis vine - Rangoon Creeper - Flamingo pink and fruity fragrance in one!
  • Who said utility areas have to be ugly? Our Quisqualis indica - Rangoon Creeper - turned the roof of our water system into a wall of flowers! This shrubby vine covers itself in clusters of pink, crimson, and white blooms that change color as they age.
  • The fragrance is sweet, fruity, and absolutely unforgettable. Every time we walk by, we can’t help but stop and smell the... creeper!
  • Got a fence, trellis, or an eyesore to hide? This is your plant!


🛒 Plant Quisqualis today for a beautiful spot with perfume tomorrow

📚 Learn more:

#Butterfly_Plants #Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits

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What's that fragrance in the dark? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Whats that fragrance in the dark?

Brunfelsia - Lady of the Night

🌠 What's that fragrance in the dark?
  • 💐 Brunfelsia? People often ask: what can you plant in a shady spot that blooms year-round and smells amazing? The answer is Brunfelsia, known as Lady of the Night.
  • 💐 This Brazilian beauty is a compact, shade-loving shrub that thrives in low light and rewards you with creamy white flowers. As the sun sets, the blooms release a sweet, unforgettable perfume that lingers through the night. It’s like nature’s way of setting the mood for evening strolls.
  • 💐 Brunfelsia is more than just fragrance. Its flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds, turning shaded corners into lively little stages. Low-maintenance, pollinator-friendly, and elegant, it’s the answer to your prayers: shade, flowers, and fragrance all in one plant.
  • 💐 The most fragrant Brunfelsias are the creamy-white varieties, often called Lady of the Night.

Popular species include: B. americana, B. isola, B. nitida, B. lactea, B. manaca, B. densifolia, B. gigantea.

Do you already grow Brunfelsia? What kind do you have in your garden?

🛒 Experience Brunfelsia fragrance

📚 Learn more about Brunfelsias:

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden

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The secret tree behind Chanel No 5 perfume. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

The secret tree behind Chanel No 5 perfume

Ylang-Ylang (Cananga odorata), Chanel No 5 Tree

👑 The secret tree behind Chanel No 5 perfume
  • ⭐️ Ylang-Ylang (Cananga odorata, Chanel No 5 Tree) is the tree behind the worlds most famous fragrance - Chanel No. 5. Its golden, star-like flowers drip from the branches with a scent so powerful you can smell it from yards away.
  • ⭐️ Native to Indonesia and Southeast Asia, this tropical evergreen can reach impressive heights, yet it blooms almost year-round, covering itself in clusters of perfumed flowers. This is one of the most beautiful, fast growing and beneficial flowering trees for Southern landscapes.
  • ⭐️The fragrance shifts as the blooms age, from green to lemon yellow to deep golden, each stage producing an intoxicating scent prized in perfumery and aromatherapy. Even without flowers, its tiered branches and glossy leaves create a striking, almost Christmas-tree effect.
  • ⭐️For smaller spaces, a dwarf form, Cananga fruticosa, brings the same beauty and scent in patio-friendly size. Whether towering or compact, Ylang-Ylang is more than a plant - it's living perfume in your garden.


🛒 Get your own Chanel #5 Tree

📚 Learn more:

📱 What" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" > is Chanel No5 made of? The story of Ylang-Ylang

🔽The Ylang-Ylang - Queen of the Perfume World - book - PDF file download

#Perfume_Plants #Trees

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Why Desmos - a cousin of Ylang Ylang - is every gardener's dream. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why Desmos - a cousin of Ylang Ylang - is every gardeners dream

Desmos chinensis - Ylang Ylang Shrub

⭐️ Why Desmos - a cousin of Ylang Ylang - is every gardener's dream
  • ⭐️ Desmos chinensis - Ylang Ylang Shrub - is a rare treasure for fragrance lovers. It's a compact, bushy, vining cousin of the famous Ylang Ylang tree, but with an even more intense perfume. The scent is often compared to sweet lemon candy.
  • ⭐️This shrub shows off graceful, arching branches and pendant flowers that come in golden yellow or the even rarer bright red form. It thrives in warm, humid conditions and becomes vigorous once established.
  • ⭐️Unlike the big Ylang Ylang tree (Cananga odorata) that can shoot up quickly and needs space, Desmos stays compact and can be maintained at about 3 to 6 ft. Perfect for smaller gardens or containers, while still delivering that unforgettable fragrance.


🎥 The rare red-flowered variety of Desmos is one of the most sought-after perfume plants of Southeast Asia.

🛒 Make Desmos the highlight of your fragrance collection

📚 Learn more:
Perfume in a pot: exotic Dwarf Chanel No 5 Tree

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits #Container_Garden

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Night jasmine that disappears with sunrise: Parijat. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Night jasmine that disappears with sunrise: Parijat

Nyctanthes arbor-tristis - Parijat, Night Jasmine, Sad Tree, Tree of Sorrow

💔 Night jasmine that disappears with sunrise: Parijat
  • 💔 Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, Parijat, Night Jasmine, Sad Tree or Tree of Sorrow... What secret is hidden in this flower?
  • 💔 Parijat is a small tree or shrub from South Asia known for its intensely perfumed white flowers with bright orange centers that open at dusk and fall by dawn.
  • 💔 What is Parijat famous for?

    • Mostly for its scent and stories - but locals also use it in traditional remedies. The flowers are beloved in temple garlands and perfumery. Leaves, flowers, bark, and seeds are used in Ayurveda for treating fevers, sciatica, arthritis, and more. Extracts also show anti-inflammatory and liver-protective effects in modern studies.
  • 💔 Why do people plant Parijat?

    • It’s both fragrant and spiritual. Parijat is sacred in Hindu myth - some say Krishna brought it from heaven, others that it sprang from a grieving princess’s ashes. People plant it near temples or in small gardens not just for the scent, but for its cultural symbolism and graceful beauty.
  • 💔 Is Parijat easy to grow?

Yes - if your climate cooperates. Parijat grows up to 10 feet tall, handles full sun or light shade, and thrives in well-drained soil with regular, moderate watering. It blooms best with monthly fertilizer and tolerates light cold (into the 30s F). In cooler areas, grow it in a container. Regular pruning helps it stay compact and flower more.

🛒 Plant Parijat - the tree smell like heartbreak and heaven

📚 Learn more:

#Perfume_Plants #Trees #Discover

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How to turn an ugly fence into a Perfume Fence. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to turn an ugly fence into a Perfume Fence

Fragrant plants - plumerias and jasmines

🏡 How to turn an ugly fence into a Perfume Fence

🍖 Your fence could smell better than your neighbor’s grill!
  • 📌Got a plain or ugly fence? Just cover it up! We did just that and created a Perfume Fence.
  • 📌First, we planted Hawaiian Plumeria trees along the fence line. Then we added vining jasmines to climb the wire fence and smother it in flowers. Each jasmine has its own fragrance - some sweet, some rich, some spicy - and together they make the whole fence smell incredible!
  • 📌Soon the wire won’t even show - just a living wall of blossoms and perfume drifting through the garden.


Here are some of the best plants you can use to make your own fragrant fence:

🛒 Explore fragrant plants

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits #How_to

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Helicopter flower Madhavi - the Spring Herald that clings to a Mango Tree. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Helicopter flower Madhavi - the Spring Herald that clings to a Mango Tree

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, flower close up

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, flower close up

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, flower

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, flower

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, seeds

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, seeds

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, flowers on the bush

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, flowers on the bush

🚁 Helicopter flower Madhavi - the Spring Herald that clings to a Mango Tree
  • 🍥 Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower: during TopTropicals plant trip to Thailand, this was one of the first discoveries that caught our attention. We were suddenly stopped by an incredible, sweet perfume drifting through the air. Following the scent, we found its source - a dense, vigorous vine covered in unusual, eye-catching flowers.
  • 🍥 Helicopter Flower? The name comes from its funny three-winged seed pods that spin like little helicopters. But the real show happens when it blooms. Clusters of pink-white-and-yellow flowers appear in profusion, with frilly petals and a fruity perfume that can stop you in your tracks. Best of all, it flowers in winter and early spring, just when most other plants are quiet, so it fills the air with fragrance at a time you need it most.
  • 🍥 Hiptage is easy-going and adaptable. It can be trimmed as a shrub, trained into a small tree, or let go as a climber, but be ready to give it space and strong support if you let it vine. It's fast-growing, tolerant of different soils, and happy in either sun or part shade. You can even keep it in a container and trim it into a rounded bush. It's pretty cold hardy too - can take some light frost.
  • 🍥 In India, the Helicopter Flower is called Madhavi - the Spring Herald, and often paired with mango trees in stories and gardens - the sturdy mango holding up this vigorous fragrant vine, symbolizing love, devotion, and the union of strength with beauty. Planting the two together makes for a striking, symbolic pair!
  • 🍥 For gardeners, it's the rare combination of beauty, fragrance, adaptability, and a good story to tell. A plant that not only perfumes your garden but also brings a touch of legend to it.
  • 🍥 Used medicinally in India.


🛒 Bring Perfume Spring Herald to your garden

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits

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What is your favorite variety of Jasmine Sambac? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is your favorite variety of Jasmine Sambac?

Jasminum Sambac varieties

💮 What is your favorite variety of Jasmine Sambac?
  • 💮 Jasminum Sambac is hands-down the queen of fragrant flowers. The scent is heavenly - so much so that it's the key to jasmine perfume and the secret behind authentic jasmine tea.
  • 💮 Jasmine sambac comes in all shapes and sizes - from neat little shrubs to big, vigorous bushes and even climbing vines. Every variety shows off a different flower form. It’s happy in sun or shade, perfect for pots, and loved as an indoor plant.
  • 💮 At TopTropicals we love them all, but these three are our favorites:

- Belle of India - with elegant long petals
- Arabian Nights - vigorous yet compact, always covered in blooms
- Little Duke - same big carnation-like flowers as Grand Duke, but in a smaller, tidy package
  • 👉 At Top Tropicals, we grow every known variety of Jasminum sambac in cultivation:


❓ Which one would you choose for your garden?
  • ✔️ Arabian Nights - compact slow growing shrub with small delicate flowers
  • ✔️ Belle of India - compact vine with long elegant petals, shade lover
  • ✔️ Grand Duke of Tuscany - the most popular, vigorous bush with carnation-like flowers
  • ✔️ Grand Duke Supreme - bigger, more vigorous version of Grand Duke with larger flowers
  • ✔️ Gundu Malli - new hybrid between Arabian Nights and Grand Duke
  • ✔️ Little Duke - more compact version of the Grand Duke
  • ✔️ Maid of Orleans - vigorous full sun climber, great for hedges and fences
  • ✔️ Mali Chat - very delicate, rare variety, with miniature 3-tier flowers, not easy to establish, shade lover
  • ✔️ Mysore Mulli - vigorous vining shrub for sunny or semi-shade locations

  • 👉 To get more flowers, just use Sunshine Pikake plant booster and enjoy the perfume all day long!


🛒 Smell the Difference – collect Sambac varieties
  • 📚 Learn more:

▫️The most wanted fragrant plant
📚 Jasminum Sambac Absolute Flower - book download

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits

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Blue lips smell like violets - Mazabuka, Sclerochiton harveyanus. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Blue lips smell like violets - Mazabuka, Sclerochiton harveyanus

Sclerochiton harveyanus - Mazabuka, Blue Lips

👄 Blue lips smell like violets
  • 💙 Sclerochiton harveyanus - Mazabuka, or Blue Lips blooms with quirky blue-to-purple flowers that really do look like lips. And in the tropical plant world, blue flowers are rare. And they are lightly violet-lavender-fragrant!
  • 💙 Even better? It's a total shade lover. No need for blazing sun - this beauty is happy to bloom in the cool, leafy spots of your garden.
  • 💙 Loved by bees and birds, and just the right mix of weird and wonderful.


🛒 Add Blue Lips to your shade garden

📚 Learn more:

#Perfume_Plants #Shade_Garden #Butterfly_Plants
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