Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Pearl the dog and her cat buddy Ricki

Chrysophyllum cainito - Caimito, Star Apple

Bauhinia monandra - Napoleons Plume Orchid Tree in bloom

Bob the cat is harvesting Bay Leaves

Megaskepasma erythrochlamys - Brazilian plume or Red Cloak

Megaskepasma erythrochlamys flowers

♨️ Turn up the color in your garden with the bold everblooming Brazilian plume

❣️Looking to add nonstop color, tropical flair for shade or sun, and pollinator appeal to your garden?

❣️ With its big, bold leaves and eye-catching crimson-to-mauve flower spikes, this plant brings exotic beauty - without the need for a steamy jungle.
❣️The best part? It's surprisingly cold hardy. This lush-looking tropical can handle brief dips into the 30s (F), making it a top pick for USDA zones 9-11. Plant it in full sun or partial shade, and with regular watering, it rewards you with a steady burst of blooms that butterflies and hummingbirds can't resist.
❣️Reaching 5-7 ft tall in the ground, it fills out beautifully to anchor beds or soften fences. In colder regions, it can still thrive in large pots - just give it a sheltered spot, bring it indoors when temperatures drop, and enjoy its vivid flower show all winter long.
❣️If you want a garden that doesn’t fade with the season, the Brazilian plume delivers color, volume, and wildlife appeal - all year round.

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Gardenia nitida (Posoqueria), Shooting Star Gardenia

⭐️ Shooting Star Gardenia: a rare scent from Africa

⭐️ Gardenia nitida (Posoqueria), Shooting Star Gardenia - is a rare African treasure prized for its star-like tubular flowers and rich, intoxicating fragrance.
⭐️ Blooming sporadically throughout the year, this plant puts on a dazzling show when in bloom - often covered in clusters of white blossoms that light up the garden like stars.
⭐️ Its leaves are unusually shaped and add to its exotic charm. It is a must-have for fragrance lovers and rare plant collectors.

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Sushi the cat

Pineapple Guava blooming

Pineapple guava fruit

🍓 Pineapple Guava: fragrant fruit, beautiful blooms, and real health benefits

Feijoa sellowiana, also known as Pineapple Guava or Guavasteen, is an evergreen shrub or small tree that brings together beauty, fragrance, and edible rewards.
With its soft pink, edible flowers blooming in late spring and strongly scented fruit ripening in late summer to fall, it offers interest across multiple seasons.
The fruit is especially unique. When fresh fruit blended with a little sugar, many describe the flavor as forest strawberries with hints of mint or pineapple - some even say it reminds them of Juicy Fruit gum. The texture is smooth and slightly gritty, similar to a pear.
Nutritionally, Feijoa fruit is low in calories, high in fiber, and an excellent source of Vitamin C and antioxidants. You don’t need to guess when it's ready - the ripe fruit drops to the ground.
Pineapple Guava is easy to grow and adaptable. It tolerates drought, thrives in full sun or partial shade, and withstands heat as well as cold down to 10F. Whether planted in the ground or grown in a large patio container, it needs minimal care - just occasional watering and light feeding.
It also serves multiple purposes in the landscape: a dense, evergreen hedge for wind protection, a privacy screen, or a standalone ornamental that attracts birds and butterflies. It can be shaped into a small tree or kept compact depending on your space.
A beautiful, edible, and low-maintenance addition to the garden that earns its place year after year.

Plumeria pudica

💐 Plumeria pudica: the evergreen plumeria that never stops blooming

🌸 Also known as Bridal Bouquet, Plumeria pudica stands out from the rest with its lush, fiddle-shaped leaves that stay green year-round. Unlike typical plumerias that go bare in winter, this variety keeps its tropical charm in every season.
🌸 It produces constant clusters of crisp white flowers with yellow centers - each about 3 inches across - giving the look of a fresh bouquet right on the plant. Whether in bloom or not, it's always ornamental.
🌸 Its growth habit is just as versatile. Plumeria pudica can be shaped into a small tree or kept as a dense, clumping bush - ideal for patios, tight spaces, or tropical accents in the landscape.
🌸 And the best part? It's low-maintenance. Fast-growing, drought-tolerant, and naturally resistant to pests and disease, this plumeria asks for very little and gives back a lot.
🌸 We have in our collection very interesting variety of Plumeria pudica from Thailand. It has variegated leaves! Plumeria pudica variegata - Snow Bridal Bouquet, or White Arrow Leaf - has variegated leaf margins. Like regular Plumeria pudica, it is evergreen, never drops leaves, and grows into a beautiful, dense multi-stem bush. Great for container culture.

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Ricki and Bob the cats