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Why the Purple Tango of Jacaranda is so hypnotizing

Jacaranda Tree flowers

Jacaranda Tree flowers

Jacaranda Tree flowers

Jacaranda Tree flowers

Jacaranda Tree

Jacaranda Tree

💃 Why the Purple Tango of Jacaranda is so hypnotizing
  • 💜 The Jacaranda Tree enchants with its stunning purple-blue trumpet-shaped blooms that create a mesmerizing, lilac carpet when they fall.
  • 💜 A true spectacle of spring, its fern-like leaves and fast-growing nature make it perfect for landscaping. It’s often compared to dancing in the streets of Buenos Aires or Pretoria, where Jacarandas paint the cities in a dazzling purple.
  • 💜 This tree is not just eye candy but a symbol of wisdom, rebirth, and good fortune, rooted in legend and tradition.


📚 Learn more:

🛒 Plant your own Purple Jacaranda tree

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Why this tree grows in almost in every yard of Central Florida

Tibouchina granulosa - Glory tree

Why this tree grows in almost in every yard of Central Florida
  • 🔖 Tibouchina granulosa - Glory tree is a dazzling addition to every southern garden!
  • 🔖 Also known as the Purple Spray Tree, it puts on a spectacular show with its velvet-like, deep purple blossoms that bloom from late Summer through Winter. These flowering panicles completely cover the tree, creating a breathtaking display of color that turns heads!
  • 🔖 In Highlands County, Florida (where our farm is located), this tree is the gem of nearly every garden, and for good reason. With its long-lasting blooms and tropical charm, it's a must-have for anyone looking to add vibrant beauty to their landscape.
  • 🔖 When you ask the neighbors why they planted this tree, they always answer: "Everyone must have one!"


📚 More Tibouchinas in previous posts:

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efits #Trees

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What is the Jasmine Oil made of?

French Perfume Jasmine, Poets jasmine (Jasminum officinale)

What is the Jasmine Oil made of?
  • 🌞 French Perfume Jasmine, or Poets jasmine (Jasminum officinale) is the most popular jasmine in the world as it is the source of the original Jasmine essential oil.
  • 🌞 There are two varieties - with single flower (Jasminum x grandiflorum - it has larger size flower and is more rare) and double flower ( Jasminum officinale Flore Pleno). They are very hard to tell apart when not in bloom as the leaves look the same, but the flowers differ (see video).
  • 🌞 Essential oil of this jasmine is one of the most important components in perfumery.
  • 🌞 Grown in the perfume fields of Southern France.
  • 🌞 Semi-evergreen to deciduous vine with lots of fragrant white flowers in spring, summer, and fall.
  • 🌞 Drought tolerant and hardy, it has good tolerance to a wide range of temperatures and is easily maintained in pots.
  • 🌞 Jasmine associates nicely with climbing roses, honeysuckle or clematis, but it looks superb grown on its own.


🎥 The difference between the double and single flower varieties.

🛒 Shop French Perfume Jasmine

#Hedges_with_benefits #Perfume_Plants

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How to add flowering vines to the landscape

Urechites lutea (Pentalinon luteum) - Yellow Mandevilla

🔍 How to add flowering vines to the landscape
  • 🍀 Vines, by their nature, are almost always climbers. There are also some that make good hanging flower vines for your baskets hanging under trees or on the front porch.
  • 🍀 Some vines are also in the fruit category. The Passiflora is a beautiful perennial climbing vine that has very showy flowers and then a fruit that can be eaten off the vine or made into a wonderful juice. It would make a nice fast growing vine for a fence or trellis. The Barbados Gooseberry also falls into this category.
  • 🍀 One of the most popular fast growing flowering vines is the trumpet vine - Allamanda. It is an evergreen vine and will take some cold without damage, although it is still considered a tropical flowering vine. It can be grown as a large shrub or small tree and makes a beautiful focal point in the landscape.
  • 🍀 If you have some large trees in your yard, a great climbing vine for shade that also produces a usable product is the Pepper family. Yes, they flower and yes some of them produce pepper that you can use in your kitchen. If you like to know what is in your food, grow your own!
  • 🍀 Another perennial, fast growing and evergreen climbing vine is the Monstera. Monsteras will climb the side of a large tree and can produce an edible fruit after a few years. It is very tropical looking, but will take some cool nights as it is protected under the canopy of the tree.


🎥 Urechites lutea (Pentalinon luteum) - Yellow Mandevilla

🛒 Shop flowering vines

#Hedges_with_benefits #How_to

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How to choose the right flowering trees for your landscape

Phymosia umbellata - Cranberry Malva Aparasolada

🔍 How to choose the right flowering trees for your landscape
  • 🌷 There are so many flowering and blooming trees to choose from, where should you start? Well there are plenty of questions to ask and several answers for each.
  • 🌷 Are you looking for trees that bloom in winter or are you looking for summer flowering trees? Maybe you are looking for the fastest growing shade tree. The choices are endless. Depending on your answer, there may be several trees that meet your needs.
  • 🌷 One good place for beginners and even seasoned growers is to use the search features in our Top Tropicals Plant Encyclopedia. Here you can search by name, size, growth habit, light requirements, watering needs, color of bloom and cold hardiness.
  • 🌷 You will be able to search for trees that attract butterflies and even those that are salt tolerant if you live near the ocean.
  • 🌷 If you choose the small tree category, you will find small flowering trees and even dwarf flowering trees or bonsai starters.


🎥 Phymosia umbellata - Cranberry Malva Aparasolada

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#Trees #How_to

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How Turks Cap can be full of snow in Summer

Malvaviscus x penduliflorus Variegata -

Malvaviscus x penduliflorus Variegata - "Summer Snow"

Malvaviscus x penduliflorus Variegata -

Malvaviscus x penduliflorus Variegata - "Summer Snow"

Malvaviscus x penduliflorus Variegata - "Summer Snow"

❄️ How Turk's Cap can be full of snow in Summer
  • ⛄️ Malvaviscus x penduliflorus Variegata - "Summer Snow"- is very rare variegated variety Turk's Cap, or Firecracker Hibiscus.
  • ⛄️ Almost ever-blooming, this shrub looks much like a hibiscus (to which it is closely related) which flowers are ready to open. In fact, the flowers never open much, hence the common name of Sleepy Hibiscus.
  • ⛄️ It blooms often, and the flowers attract hummingbirds. The 2 inch long tubular flowers appear to be constructed of crimson crepe paper as they nod against the large variegated leaves.
  • ⛄️ Some leaves can be completely white! The little tree looks like a decorated Christmas tree!
  • ⛄️ Can be kept compact shape and is good for container culture and bonsai.


🛒 Order Summer Snow

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants

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Im so tired, I could sleep standing up in a hurricane

Im so tired, I could sleep standing up in a hurricane
🙃 "I'm so tired, I could sleep standing up in a hurricane."

😶 Get a good rest tonight. Good night...

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When you love your Teddy Bear so much

🏃‍♂️ When you love your Teddy Bear so much...

"Love is like a teddy bear: soft, comforting, and always there when you need a hug." - Matilda

🧸 Give a hug to your Teddy Bear... Good night...

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Edible Landscape

Four must-have herbal edibles for your instant Food Forest

Kitten with veggies in a basket

Q: What attractive and useful edibles or herbs can I grow in my yard landscape without needing dedicated garden beds?

A: When we think of an "herb garden," parsley and chives often come to mind -plants that aren't particularly showy and typically require a dedicated vegetable garden, space, and regular maintenance. However, creating a food forest in your yard doesn't have to be a complex project. Useful edibles and medicinal herbs can also be exotic and beautiful, enhancing the charm of your landscape. Here are some examples of unusual tropical edibles that are not only stunning ornamentals but also bring delicious goodness to your kitchen.

1. For drinks: Jamaica Tea flower - Karkade Hibiscus

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel, Roselle

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel, Roselle, or Jamaica Tea flower (Karkade Tea) - yes, many hibiscus species are edible!
- Flowers of Roselle hibiscus are used to make a tea "Agua de Flor de Jamaica". To be exact, those are flower bracts around flowers and seed pods.
- Medical studies show that it lowers blood pressure and has diuretic effects.
- The pleasant flavor is similar to a cranberry juice and it's so good, you may not even want to add any sugar. We make this cold tea every day - perfect for hot summer.
- Karkade Hibiscus grows into a large bush within just one season from seed! Lots of flowers to harvest will last you the whole winter. It can be treated as annual in cooler areas due to its fast growth and same-year harvest. Thrives in full sun.
- Short video: how to make hibiscus tea

2. For medicine: Aztec Sweetleaf - Lippia

Lippia dulcis - Aztec Sweet Herb, Sweetleaf

Lippia dulcis - Aztec Sweet Herb, Sweetleaf is a wonderful fragrant groundcover.
- Fragrant Mexican herb with incredibly sweet and aromatic leaves.
- The fresh leaves can be eaten from the plant like candy or tossed into fruit salads for an unusual addition, or used for making a healing tea.
- It has been used since the time of the Aztecs for coughs and colds.
- The sweetness tastes great, and can be used by diabetic patients. We add this herb to Karkade or Mint tea as a sweetener, instead of sugar or honey.
- Grows like a ground cover, in shade or semi-shade, great perennial container plant.

3. For salads and stews: Longevity Spinach, or Cholesterol spinach

Gynura procubens - Longevity Spinach, or Cholesterol spinach

Gynura procubens - Longevity Spinach, or Cholesterol spinach is a perennial spinach, and once you plant it, you have it for many years, and can grow many more easily from cuttings!
- Longevity Spinach is one of the Superfoods, and there are many claims that it lowers cholesterol.
- We use Longevity Spinach in our cooking all the time and so far we are all alive, so it works! :)
- Longevity spinach can be eaten raw in salads or cooked wherever you would use a regular spinach.
- Grows as a large spreading herbal bush, in full sun. - See some recipes with more pictures

4. For meat wraps: Vietnamese Pepper or Wild Betel Leaf

 Piper sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot, Wild Betel Leaf, 
Chaa-plu

Piper sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot, Wild Betel Leaf, Chaa-plu adds wonderful peppery flavor to meats and is great for wrapping meats and cooking in the oven, on a stove or grill. We use it all the time, wrapping ground beef of turkey and putting wraps on a grill or on a frying pan, very easy!
- Vietnamese Pepper leaves are eaten raw in salads or cooked with other greens or dishes.
- The leaves are used as food wraps in Vietnam. It is used medicinally in India and SE Asia.
- It is also chewed with Betel Nut as a tonic and medicine, very similar to Betel Leaf (Piper Betel) which is very popular tonic in Indian culture.
- Vietnamese Pepper grows as a vining herbaceous shrub or ground cover, in both sun or shade, and spreads with runners so you can have plenty if you want to have more. Can be grown in container and indoors, too. - Check out recipes of meat wraps for grilling

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