Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

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Why you need these pretty bells in your garden. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why you need these pretty bells in your garden

🔔 Why you need these pretty bells in your garden

  • 💕 Strobilanthes cusia (flaccidifolius) - Chinese Rain Bell - Very showy, charming little shrub that will bring a touch of elegance and color to your garden.

  • 💕 Impressively statured herbaceous shrub with graceful, arching branches and lovely pink, bell-shaped flowers that bloom from fall to spring, like a natural fountain of beauty.

  • 💕 Not only is it eye-catching, but it also has a fascinating history - used to make the famous Assam Indigo dye and even for treating common ailments in traditional medicine.

  • 💕 This fast-growing, cold-hardy plant is also great for containers

  • 💕 Those delicate bells will attract butterflies. Add some charm and whimsy to your outdoor space!


🛍 Order online

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants #Container_Garden

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

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Why you need these pretty bells in your garden. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why you need these pretty bells in your garden

Strobilanthes cusia (flaccidifolius) - Chinese Rain Bell

🔔 Why you need these pretty bells in your garden
  • 💕 Strobilanthes cusia (flaccidifolius) - Chinese Rain Bell - Very showy, charming little shrub that will bring a touch of elegance and color to your garden.
  • 💕 Impressively statured herbaceous shrub with graceful, arching branches and lovely pink, bell-shaped flowers that bloom from fall to spring, like a natural fountain of beauty.
  • 💕 Not only is it eye-catching, but it also has a fascinating history - used to make the famous Assam Indigo dye and even for treating common ailments in traditional medicine.
  • 💕 This fast-growing, cold-hardy plant is also great for containers
  • 💕 Those delicate bells will attract butterflies. Add some charm and whimsy to your outdoor space!


🛍 Order online

#Hedges_with_benefits #Butterfly_Plants #Container_Garden

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

Cat TV - sound on. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

😱 Cat TV - sound on 🎤

💻 If your PeopleCats don't have their own Cat TV, what kind of pet owner are you???

📱 Watch this video in high quality on " frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" >YouTube ⬇️⬇️⬇️

🔠 PeopleCats.Garden 
#PeopleCats

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Powderpuff and a Bee. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Calliandra haematocephala - Red Powderpuff

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How many cats in the room? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

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A small tree of a pure gold. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

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A small tree of a pure gold. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

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A small tree of a pure gold. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Tabebuia chrysotricha - Dwarf Golden Tabebuia

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Smile while you still have teeth. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Smile while you still have teeth

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What cactus vine produces gooseberries

Perescia aculeata, Barbados Gooseberry fruit

Q: I've heard about a tropical gooseberry suitable for making jams but don't know its exact name. Do you have it? Gooseberry jam is my husband's favorite, but I can't find gooseberries here in Florida - too hot, maybe?

A: Yes, we do have the plant you're looking for! We've just made some delicious jam from this tropical gooseberry, and it tastes just like the northern varieties but even more flavorful! Florida's winter is the perfect season for this wonderful fruit. Right now, our plant is growing quickly and vigorously over our fence, and it's covered with fruit. Just a couple of months earlier it was full of fragrant, beautiful white flowers!

The plant in question is Perescia aculeata, commonly known as Barbados Gooseberry. It's a unique cactus with both edible leaves and fruit, making it a tropical treasure that offers beauty as well as culinary delights.

The fruit is yellow with a juicy, subacid pulp that tastes remarkably similar to traditional gooseberries. You can enjoy the fruits fresh, stewed, or transformed into jams and jellies.

The young leaves are also edible, adding a nutritious boost to your meals.

This fast-growing vining cactus prefers well-drained soil that remains moist during the summer and drier in winter, and it can be effectively grown in containers on a trellis.

Watch a short video of Barbados Gooseberry fruiting.

Perescia aculeata, Barbados Gooseberry jam

Perescia aculeata, Barbados Gooseberry flowers