🌞 National treasure of Thailand: Golden Shower Tree

• ☀️ Cassia fistula - Golden Shower Tree is known as the national flower of Thailand. It is one of the most spectacular flowering trees for tropical and subtropical gardens.
• ☀️ From late spring through summer, it puts on a breathtaking display of golden-yellow flower clusters that hang in long, pendulous chains, often over a foot long. When in full bloom, the entire tree appears drenched in gold.
• ☀️ This deciduous tree drops its leaves in the dry season, allowing the brilliant flowers to take center stage. The leaves re-emerge after flowering, followed by long, dark brown seed pods that can reach up to two feet.
• ☀️ Cassia fistula is fast-growing, typically reaching 20-30 feet tall, and thrives in full sun with well-drained soil. It prefers a dry season to initiate heavy blooming and is tolerant of drought once established.
• ☀️ Aside from its beauty, the tree has cultural and medicinal significance in Asia in Ayurvedic medicine.
• ☀️ Fun facts:

▫️In Thailand, it’s called Ratchaphruek and symbolizes royal identity.

• ▫️Its golden flowers are often used in local festivals and ceremonies.
• ▫️It attracts bees and butterflies and provides seasonal shade.

🛒 Shop showy Cassia trees

📚 Learn more:
▫️Compact and showy flowering trees: Rainbow Cassias.

#Butterfly_Plants #Trees

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✨ Royal Cat’s Daily Schedule

5:00 am - 5:15 am - Wake the servants. With authority. Use claws if ignored.
6:00 am - 6:15 am - Morning grooming. A monarch must sparkle.
6:15 am - 7:30 am - Vigorous athletic training: zoomies, ambush drills, and hallway races.
7:30 am - Light royal snack. Not what was offered - something better.
7:30 am - 1:00 pm - Refreshing slumber in a sunbeam. Royal snoring allowed.
1:00 pm - 1:15 pm - Afternoon snack. Preferably something the servants just opened for themselves.
1:15 pm - 1:16 pm - Optional stretch. One paw is enough.
1:16 pm - 5:30 pm - Do not wake. The royal being is not to be trifled with.
5:30 pm - Servants return from wherever they’ve been. Deliver loud complaints. Make it personal.
5:35 pm - 6:00 pm - Festive banquet. Fit for feline royalty.
6:00 pm - 6:05 pm - Digestive pause. Stare into the void.
6:05 pm - 6:30 pm - Additional nap. Important things can wait.
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm - Allow audience with the servants. Bonus points if they offer tummy rubs. Caution: traps may be set.
8:00 pm - 11:00 pm - Evening nap to prepare for major operations.
11:00 pm - 2:00 am - Advanced night training: furniture parkour, the Wild Mustang routine, and expert-level feng shui via object relocation.
2:00 am - 5:00 am - Cuddle enforcement: close contact with a sleeping servant, accompanied by motivational purring.
5:00 am - What do you mean you're still sleeping?!

📚 See also:
PeopleCats.Garden Official Cat Feeding Policy

🐈 PeopleCats.Garden  #PeopleCats

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Van Dyke: the mango that glows and flows.
Mango Rainbow🌈

• 🟠 Van Dyke is a Florida classic mango that’s loved all over the world - and once you try it, you’ll know why!
• 🟠 The trees are strong, spreading, and loaded with beautiful fruit.
• 🟠 Walking through the grove, this one really pops - bright yellow skin with a red blush, like it’s lit from within.
• 🟠 I pick it, slice it open... and wow! No fiber, just rich, juicy flesh with a sweet, spicy twist. It’s dense, meaty, and bursting with tropical flavor. This mango isn’t just pretty - it's pure magic!

🛒 Shop Mango varieties

📚 Previous posts: #Mango_Rainbow - varieties you should try

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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🌸 Fragrance lovers, this plant changes everything!

• 🌸 Cerbera x manghas - Enchanted Incense - is one of the newest and most sought-after perfume plants, prized for its incredible fragrance that outshines even jasmine and gardenia. Its red-and-white flowers release an intense, sweet scent you won't forget.
• 🌸 This compact, plumeria-like tree has beautiful mauve-tinted leaves and grows slowly, making it perfect for containers.
• 🌸 Easy-care, evergreen in warm climates, and low on water needs - this is a rare gem for fragrance lovers.

🛒 Add rare perfume power to your patio

📚 Learn more:
▫️ What flower is sweeter than any Jasmine

#Perfume_Plants #Container_Garden

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🎤 All you need is cat

• 🎵

All you need is cat...
All you need is cat...
All you need is cat, cat...
Cat is all you need.

No need for Mars or progress plans,
Just paws that march across your hands.
A garden patch, a sunbeam spot -
The world makes sense when cat is what you've got.

All you need is cat...
All you need is cat...
All you need is cat, cat...
Cat is all you need.
• 🎵

🐈📸 Percephone, one of our rescued cats, has quickly become a star of our Blog and PeopleCats.Garden 

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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Mango tasting table with Chiane and Ashley

📱

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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How to cut a Mango without making a mess: Mango Rainbow tasting table

Mango harvest is exploding! Today we had another epic mango tasting table at Top Tropicals - and wow, do we have some favorites to share. From creamy classics to crisp green delights, here's what stood out and why we can't stop talking about them!

🌈 Today on the Mango tasting table:

• 🟠 P22 - Ultra-sweet with a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Completely fiberless and silky smooth like mango cream.
• 🟠 Sweet Tart - Bright orange flesh with bold sweet-tart flavor, floral aroma, and a juicy, creamy texture. Tangy when green, syrupy sweet when ripe.
• 🟠 Van Dyke - Rich and juicy with dense, meaty flesh and a tropical spice twist. Fiberless and bursting with sweet aroma and high juice content.
• 🟠 Pim Seng Mun - Crisp and tart when green, with a bright apple-like snap. When fully ripe, it has an amazingly smooth, melting, and silky texture - a true Thai favorite for eating both ways.
• 🟠 Florigon - Creamy and mild with a buttery texture and hint of spice. Sweet but balanced - delicious on its own or over ice cream.

🛒 Discover Mango varieties - hundreds!

📚 Previous posts: #Mango_Rainbow - varieties you should try

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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🌷 Curcuma: one plant, two powers - color and spice!

• 🌷 Curcuma, also called Siam Tulip or Turmeric, brings bold tropical blooms and practical benefits to your garden.
• 🌷 The bright pink, white, yellow, or purple flowers rise above lush foliage and last up to two weeks in a vase.
• 🌷 It's easy to grow in pots or beds - just keep the soil moist and give it filtered light.
• 🌷 Best of all, the roots are the source of turmeric, the golden spice used in cooking and natural wellness. Beautiful above, useful below!

🛒 Plant Curcuma for cut flowers and herbal use

📚 Learn more :
▫️ Curcuma - the tropical tulip with a secret spice twist

#Food_Forest #Container_Garden

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🏃‍♂️ Never be bored

"Never be bored, and you will never be boring." - Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life

🐈📸 Jim II and Kiwi the cats entertaining themselves on a new cat tree at TopTropicals Arizona office. We have 7 rescued cats there... Plus 14 in Ft Myers and 12 in Sebring locations. Total of 33 and growing!

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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🐰 Who’s stealing my fruit?! How to protect mango fruit from critters.

• It's Mango season! But somehow, the mangoes are disappearing. Looks familiar? Squirrels, bunnies, birds, rats, raccoons… They all love the fruit. But sharing? Not so much. You’re lucky to get their leftovers!
• Here’s what we do to protect our mangoes and avocados - and it works! We use fruit protection bags. They are made of a strong mesh netting with easy drawstrings - keep out bugs, birds, and every other freeloading critter! Just slip it over the fruit and tighten both ends. They’re inexpensive, about 15 cents each, worth every penny! 💰

🐁🐿 Save your fruit - and maybe even have some left to share!

🛒 Don't own a mango tree yet? Plant one now to enjoy fruit tomorrow!

📚 Learn more:
How to protect fruit in your garden from greedy competitors
Penelope, the Squirrel Cat

#How_to #Food_Forest #Mango_Rainbow #Mango

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🍷 To the new beginnings!

"Celebrate endings - for they precede new beginnings." - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

🐈📸 Philemon discovering a new beginnings shenanigans at TopTropicals Rescued PeopleCats.Garden

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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🍅 Why everyone's falling for the Hog Plum - the tropical fruit tree that does it all!

• ♦️The Hog Plum tree (Spondias purpurea), that you saw blooming in March, set the fruit by May and now in July - it's finally ripening at TopTropicals garden, and wow, what a crop!
• ♦️Also known as Jocote, Spanish Plum, or Purple Mombin, this fast-growing tropical tree is a superstar in the garden. It explodes with bright flowers right on bare branches in spring, then follows up with juicy, plum-like fruits that smell amazing and taste even better.
• ♦️The fruits are super versatile - eat them fresh, cook them down with sugar, pickle them green, or even make a spread like apple butter. You can even cook the young leaves for a tangy side dish.
• ♦️It grows fast, fruits early, and does great in all kinds of soil. Want a living fence that feeds you? This is it.
• ♦️And it's not just tasty - Hog Plum is packed with vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants. It’s refreshing, great for digestion, and may even help with blood pressure and blood sugar.
• ♦️ If mango is king, Hog Plum is definitely next in line!

🛒 Sweet fruit, right this way!

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️ Hog Plum health benefits
• ▫️ This is how the flowers of a Hog Plum look like
• ▫️ The Hog Plum tree fruit
• ▫️ What fruit tree is full of fruit year around

#Food_Forest

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Did you know that cannonballs grow on a tree? The Marvelous Cannonball Tree.

📱

#Nature_Wonders #Trees

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