Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

🌿 What spice comes from the small dried flower buds of a tropical tree?

• 🌿 That would be Clove, from the tropical tree Syzygium aromaticum. The spice is actually the dried, unopened flower buds. They turn from pink to brown as they dry and release that powerful, warm aroma we associate with baking and holiday dishes. Cloves are native to the Moluccas, or Spice Islands of Indonesia, and are still grown widely across the tropics. The clove tree is ultra-tropical and very challenging to grow outside the true tropics, which is why it’s so rare in plant collections.

📸 Photos 1-3.

🌿 Another spice with a similar story is Allspice, from Pimenta dioica, also known as the Jamaica pepper tree. Unlike clove, it comes from dried unripe berries, not flower buds, but it earned its name because its flavor tastes like a mix of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg all in one! The Allspice tree is much easier to grow, as it isn’t as fussy as the clove tree - though still frost-sensitive. It's compact and easy to keep in a container. This tree brings joy to your life and spice to your kitchen right away, so you don’t need to wait for years for the fruit of your labor!
📸 Photos 4-5.

🛒 Explore tropical spice trees and edibles

#Food_Forest #Fun_facts

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❗️ The hot Guyanese secret to perfect skin 💥

• 🌶 Who said Peppers can't be cute? These two little fireballs prove otherwise! They might look small, but they’re full of personality, flavor, and heat.
• 🌶 Biquinho Pepper (Capsicum annuum x chinense)

This heart-shaped hottie is an ancient hybrid between bird pepper and habanero is as beautiful as it is flavorful. Each tiny 1-inch red pepper packs a fruity, tangy punch with just enough heat to make your taste buds dance. Perfect for container gardens, Biquinho peppers decorate the plant like tiny red ornaments – and they’re just as tasty in pickles, salsas, or fresh salads.
• 🌶 Wiri Wiri Pepper (Capsicum frutescens)

From the kitchens of Guyana comes a true legend - the Wiri Wiri pepper. These little berry-shaped peppers turn from green to orange to bright red, bursting with intense heat and flavor. Guyanese chefs swear by it - it's the secret behind their famously spicy, flavorful dishes. Locals even say it’s the reason they live long, have glowing skin, and look amazing… it's not just spice, it's magic!
• 🌶 Fun facts:

· Both peppers belong to the same botanical family as potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants.

• · What makes them special isn't just the heat - it's the flavor!
• · True pepper lovers know that great peppers are about depth, aroma, and the fruity fire they bring to every meal.

🌶 Growing tips:
Feed your peppers with Sunshine C-Cibus plant booster for abundant crops and extra flavorful fruits. These compact plants thrive in containers and bring tropical flair to patios, balconies, or edible gardens.

💥 These two peppers are a must for spice lovers - intense fruity habanero flavor packs quite a bang!
Extremely showy, these ornamental peppers have culinary benefits and are great for container garden.

🛒 Add the flavor of Hot Peppers to your garden and kitchen

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️ Hot-hot-hot HEART! How hot is it?
• ▫️ Wiri Wiri Pepper: how to live long and have a great skin.

📱 How" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" > to grow the hot Wiri Wiri and Biquino Peppers

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden

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🍴 Hot Pepper pickles: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

• 🔴If you like hot and spicy pickles - Biquinho and Wiri Wiri peppers (Capsicum) are perfect for new experiments!
• 🔴Pickle whole little peppers in vinegar, garlic, Bay leaves (Laurus nobilis) and sugar.
• 🔴Sweet, tangy, and spicy little bites! Perfect as appetizers, chasers and hot parties! 🔥

🛒 Invite Biquinho, Wiri Wiri peppers and Bay Leaves to your kitchen

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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🍴 Curry leaf rice: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

• 🟢Fry curry leaves (Murraya koenigii) with mustard seeds, garlic, and chilies
• 🟢Stir into steamed rice for a fragrant side dish 🍛

🍛 Curry Leaf Rice recipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup steamed rice
• 1 handful fresh curry leaves (Murraya koenigii)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3-4 dried red chilies
• 1 tbsp oil or ghee
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds until they pop.
2. Add garlic, chilies, and curry leaves. Fry until fragrant.
3. Stir in steamed rice and mix well.
4. Season with salt and serve hot as a fragrant side dish 🍲

🛒Grow your own Curry Leaf Tree for exotic recipes

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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Plant for birds: feast for wildlife and people from a tiny vine!

• Passiflora suberosa - Corkystem Passion Flower: did you know this Florida native passion vine is more than just a butterfly host? Birds love it too - they’ll happily snack on the little fruits and sing you thank-you songs all day long!
• And yes, the fruit is edible for people as well! The berries are small, but they make a fun and exotic treat.
• The plants has a tiny flower and a tiny fruit – both only about half an inch – but together they create a mighty native habitat.
• It's a triple win: butterflies, birds, and people can all enjoy something from this charming little plant. Plus, it’s the larval host for Gulf Fritillary, Zebra Longwing, and Julia butterflies, and its tiny greenish flowers provide nectar all year long. Fast-growing, easy, and full of life – a real gem for any Florida garden.
• This vine is delicate and compact, perfect for a medium trellis or climbing a small tree. Unlike the big, aggressive passion vines that can cover a whole fence, this one stays manageable.
• This Passion vine is not just charming and wildlife-friendly, it’s also tough as nails. Cold hardy and easy to grow, this native vine takes whatever Florida throws at it – heavy rains, long droughts and heat, poor sandy soils, even total neglect – and still thrives. A perfect choice if you want beauty, wildlife, and resilience all in one little plant.

🛒 Plant this small and tough vine with food and wildlife benefits

📚 Learn more:

• ✦ What is the sweetest Passionfruit?
• ✦ How big is Giant Granadilla?
• ✦ Does Red Passion flower produce edible fruit?
• ✦ The truth about Passion flower and Passion fruit
• ✦ Top 20 plants for a Butterfly Haven
• ✦ Top Eight irresistible vines for a hummingbird haven

#Food_Forest #Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants #How_to

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🍌 Blue Ice Cream banana you’ll never find in stores!

• 🔵 The Blue Java Banana, also known as the Ice Cream Banana, is the banana everyone wants - and for good reason.
• 🔵 First of all… it's blue. Yes, really. When the fruit is unripe, it has a frosty blue-green tint - especially striking in the sun. These short, chunky bananas are only about 4 inches long and grow in beautiful bunches under mauve-colored flowers. The whole plant is a tropical showstopper.
• 🔵But the real magic happens when the fruit ripens. The blue fades to yellow… and inside? Oh my God - it’s heaven! The texture is soft, smooth, and creamy. And the flavor? Like vanilla ice cream.
• 🔵That’s how it got the name Ice Cream Banana. And this isn’t just a gimmick - it’s a cold-tolerant, vigorous variety that grows fast, reaches 10-15 feet tall, and produces heavy bunches (up to 60 pounds!) of sweet fruit that you can eat raw or cook with.
• 🔵 Your store-bought bananas can’t compete with this. Add it to your edible landscape, food forest, or patio garden - this one is a must-have! Grab it while it’s in stock. Or if it’s sold out - hit that wishlist button.

🛒 Explore Banana Varieties

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️ Is Blue Java Banana really blue? Great question!
• ▫️Why every garden needs a banana tree (or three!)
• ▫️The best varieties of edible Banana to plant
• ▫️What banana fits anywhere - Banana Truly Tiny
• ▫️How to double your banana crop without extra space - Banana Double Mahoi
• ▫️Which Banana has red fruit and leaves - Banana Bordelon
• ▫️Why everyone wants Banana Lakatan - Banana Lakatan
• ▫️More about #Bananas

#Food_Forest #Bananas

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🍴 Peanut butter fruit smoothie: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

• 🔴Peanut butter fruit (Bunchosia argentia) makes delicious shake!
• 🔴Blend ripe peanut butter fruits with milk and honey.
• 🔴A creamy shake that tastes like dessert straight from the tree!

Peanut Butter Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 cup ripe peanut butter fruit (Bunchosia argentea), seeded
• 1 cup cold milk
• 1–2 tablespoons honey
• Ice cubes (optional)

Instructions

1. Remove seeds from ripe peanut butter fruits.
2. Blend fruits with milk and honey until smooth.
3. Add ice cubes if desired for a chilled version.
4. Serve immediately and enjoy a creamy shake that tastes like dessert straight from the tree!

🛒 Harvest Peanut Butter Fruit - the tree is fast fruiting!

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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Can you name all the fruits on this tray? One of them will stump you!

• This morning I walked the garden and came back with a tray of fruits! That’s the joy of living in Florida with your own tropical garden: something new is always in season.
• On today’s tray: Papaya, Avocado, Egyptian guava and Cas guava, Barbados cherry… And this little red one? Peanut butter fruit!
• At Top Tropicals, you’ll find every tropical fruit tree you can imagine. What fruits are you harvesting from your garden right now?

🛒 Explore rare tropical fruit

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️10 best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes
• ▫️Five best fruit trees to plant in Summer
• ▫️Top 10 fast-fruiting trees

#Food_Forest #Discover

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🍴 Loquat salsa: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

• 
  🔴Dice Loquat fruit with tomato, onion, and jalapeno.
• 🔴Great spooned over grilled fish or eaten with chips.

Loquat Salsa Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh loquats, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, finely diced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Peel and pit the loquats, then dice them into small cubes.
2. Dice tomatoes and onion, finely chop the jalapeno.
3. In a bowl, combine loquats, tomato, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro.
4. Add lime juice and salt to taste, stir gently to mix.
5. Chill for 15 minutes before serving.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with tortilla chips.
• Spoon over grilled fish, chicken, or shrimp.
• Use as a topping for tacos or salads.

🛒Plant your Loquat tree

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Loquat

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🍴 10-minute recipe Bo La Lot with a leaf you’ve never cooked before!

• 🌮 Forget boring tacos - this wrap will blow your mind! In Vietnam they call it Bo La Lot - beef wrapped in peppery Lalot leaves.
• 🌮 It started as grape leaf wraps in the Middle East, but in tropical Asia grapes don’t grow, so people swapped to Lalot. Way more flavor than grape leaves!
• 🌮 Grilled beef, garlic, onion, lemongrass - all can be tucked into these shiny green leaves. Smoky, juicy, and so good you’ll wonder why you didn't try it sooner! It's better than grape leaf wraps, because it has so much flavor!
• 🌮 Most large leaf pepper plants will work for this recipe - Vietnamese pepper Lalot (Piper sarmentosum), Betel Leaf (Piper betle), or even large leaves of the traditional Black Pepper plant (Piper nigrum).

🌯 BO LA LOT RECIPE

✔️ Ingredients

• · 1 pound ground beef or turkey
• · 2 tablespoons chopped lemongrass (optional)
• · 1 tbsp spice powder
• · 1 tbsp curry powder
• · 1 tbsp finely minced garlic
• · 1 tbsp oyster sauce or fish sauce (optional)
• · 1 tsp ground black pepper
• · 1 tbsp finely minced shallots
• · 1 tbsp soy sauce
• · 2 tsp sugar or honey
• · 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• · 1/2 tbsp salt
• · 10-15 fresh Lalot leaves

• 👉 Directions

• · Preheat the grill.
• · Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
• · Wrap about 2 tablespoons of the mixture into each betel leaf.
• · Spear 3 to 4 betel leaf wraps onto a skewer and grill until the meat is thoroughly cooked.
• · Be sure to eat immediately.

🛒 Grow Leaf Pappers for tasty, peppery recipes

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️Lalot beef wraps: Quick-n-Fun exotic recipes
• ▫️Vietnamese Pepper - Lalot food wraps BBQ recipe
• ▫️How to grow your own Pepper plants. Five most valuable Pipers
• ▫️How to to get Pepper leaves large and green

📱 Growing" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" > Lalot Pepper

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Container_Garden #How_to

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