HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS, GROUNDCOVERS, & SMALL SHRUBS

Veld grape - unusual succulent vine with tendrils, fleshy 3-lobed leaves and quandrangular 4-winged stem and grape-shaped leaves, used medicinally to help fractures heal faster. Good for hanging baskets.
This plant is anything but ordinary! With its thick, four-winged stems that look almost sculpted, Cissus quadrangularis stands out from the crowd. The stems are square in shape, giving the plant a distinctive geometric look that makes people stop and ask what it is.
Native to Africa and India, veld grape is a succulent vine both tough and unusual. It grows fast, loves full sun, and thrives even with minimal care. The fleshy, jointed stems store water, making it drought-tolerant and perfect for warm, dry gardens or bright patios. It can be grown as a hanging plant, groundcover, or trained up a small trellis.
Traditionally known as the bone setter plant, veld grape has been valued for centuries in Ayurvedic and African medicine for helping bones heal. It's also completely ornamental, with small tendrils, occasional clusters of tiny leaves, and a striking structure that looks great in containers or hanging baskets. A true show-stopper for collectors and anyone who loves the strange and beautiful side of nature.
Growing tips:
Sun to partial shade
Moderate watering, well-drained soil
Great for hanging baskets or groundcover
Easy and fast-growing succulent vine

Illustris Colocasia is a classic beauty. The heart-shaped, large purple-and-green leaves of Illustris are huge, and their dark highlights are stunning. This elephant ear is a lover of moist shade, but does best with a little dappled sunlight. It will tolerate boggy conditions. Provide light shade to full shade and consistently moist or boggy soil. It is a strong fast growing variety that does great in container, landscapes, ponds and patios.

Introduced at the 2000 International Aroid Society meeting in Florida, this dazzling elephant ear became the most wanted plant at the meeting. Emerging solid green, the 25" wide light green leaves begin turning butter cream-yellow along the center. The color then pours down into the main vein creating a huge bold Y-pattern in the center of the leaf. Color then bursts into the lateral (side) veins and begins its march to the margins. Coloring starts in spring, shortly after the first leaves mature. It sends out lots of side stolons which will root into the soil where moisture is adequate. The more moisture the larger the plant will grow.
Colocasia White Lava is similar to Colocasia Nancys Revenge but White Lava produces glossy red petioles whereas Nancys Revenge has green petioles.

Large glossy green leaves are adorned with a wide band of creamy white down the center of each leaf. Veins are bright purple. There is also a distinct purple spot in the heart of each leaf. Perfect for large containers, garden borders, or mass landscape plantings. The large, glossy green leaves develop a striking creamy-white band down the center of each leaf that radiates out into the side veins as the leaf matures creating a stunning specimen that is attractive and eye-catching. This new colocasia is a tightly clumping plant that's ideal for a container or garden bed.
Young plants come as green leaf, then start showing "white lava flow" as they develop.
Colocasia White Lava is similar to Colocasia Nancys Revenge but White Lava produces glossy red petioles whereas Nancys Revenge has green petioles.

As with most epiphytes, the Columnea group should be planted in a fairly open and well-drained medium. They will tolerate some drought, but best growth and flowering will occur when they are kept evenly moist with moderate regular fertilizer. If grown in a window under room conditions, they will tolerate cool temperatures better than dry heat during the winter. Under cool conditions, it is much better to underwater than to overwater. The plant is displayed to best advantage in a hanging basket, where the broad surface area allows the trailing stems to root down at intervals and send out abundant side-shoots, perfect as hanging or trailing plant.
These plants require high humidity and warmth throughout the growing season, as well as strong, but not direct, light. These plants are perfect for a greenhouse, sunroom or conservatory.
Perfect for hanging baskets/pots to best display their lovely cascading stems and attractive flowers or in containers placed on a pedestal or windowsill. The plant can be kept in a bathroom window sill or kitchen for increased humidity.
Very similar to Aeschynanthus speciosus.

The Harlequin Cordyline is a tropical plant known for its striking, multicolored foliage in shades of pink, green, cream, and purple with red veins, serving as a vibrant focal point indoors or out in warm climates. This versatile plant adds bold, low-maintenance tropical color to containers, landscapes, and homes, growing upright with a bushy habit, reaching 2-6 feet depending on conditions. Easy to grow, tolerates poor soils, has low water needs. Sun or shade.

Bright green leaves with a sherbet orange edge. A stately variety that grows large.
Ti plants or cordylines, also known as ti and Hawaiian gook-luck plant, are very popular for their intense leaf colors and leaf shapes producing interest and contrasts even in deep shade.

Variegated Spiral Ginger. Originally from South America, this ginger is very popular in Hawaii and Florida. The actual name is C. arabicus variegata and it is labeled Costus amazonicus variegata almost everywhere. Spiraling stems rise with a strong white variegation and topped with elegant pure white flowers with yellow centers. Takes both sun and shade, moist soil and lots of water.
This is a spectacular addition to your shade garden!

Costus fissiligulatus is an amazing new Costus from Gabon in West Africa. It has a dazzling pink trumpet flower with a yellow throat. It is very floriferous with an inflorescence of numerous flower buds on a shortish plant of 3-4 ft that stands very erect. It is an easy grower with similar growing requirements to other gingers.

Costus igneus, Chamaecostus cuspidatus - Insulin Plant, Fiery Costus, Spiral Flag.
It is known as the insulin plant because it may help lower glucose levels for some people with diabetes. Researchers believe it can help lower blood sugar level. The plant has large, fleshy, smooth turmeric-like spiral leaves that are dark green on top with light purple undersides. The undersides of these large, smooth, dark green leaves have light purple shade. The leaves are spirally arranged around the stem, forming attractive, arching clumps arising from underground rootstocks. The flowers are orange in color, appear to be cone-like heads at the tips of branches. Flowering occurs during the warm months.
10 benefits of insulin plant:
- Helps to reduce high blood glucose level
- Improves digestion
- Reduces cholesterol level
- Increases energy level
- Promotes weight loss
- Good for skin health
- Prevents heart diseases
- Relieves stress.

Red Button Ginger, French Kiss. Spectacular red ginger, with bright red button-like flower cones almost year-round. The yellow flowers that emerge from the red cones are edible. The plant can withstand a light frost for short periods of time but will stop blooming.

A fiery burst of color, Crocosmia is perfect for borders, flower beds, and rock gardens. This easy-to-grow perennial boasts sword-like leaves and arching spikes of vivid red, orange, and golden blooms in summer, attracting hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Resilient and long-lasting, it thrives in full sun to semi-shade and well-drained soil. Crocosmia adds drama, movement, and a tropical touch to your garden! In colder climates, grow in pots and protect corms in winter. With minimal care, this plant delivers breathtaking color and pollinator activity season after season! Drought tolerant, great for xeriscaping.

Beautiful small shrub, can be used as a ground cover. Bright orange to brick red tubular flowers year round are very showy.

Anthonys Rick-Rack. This curious epiphyte is grown for the strange leaves which lend it the common name Ric-Rac Cactus, Zig-Zag or Fishbone Cactus. In the wild it attaches itself to trees, clinging by little aerial root filaments along the zigzagging succulent leaves, but is adaptable to terrestrial habits. It loves strong yet indirect lighting. It does not need a lot of water and should be permitted to dry out entirely between waterings. It is nightblooming and its flowers last only a single night in spring.

Lemon grass - versatile performer in the kitchen where it can be used in teas, beverages, herbal medicines, Eastern inspired soups and other dishes.

Disocactus ackermanni, also called the Red Orchid Cactus, puts on a jaw-dropping show with huge, blazing red flowers that can reach 6 inches wide! It's a cactus that acts nothing like one - and then bursts out in flowers the size of your hand.
It blooms from spring through summer and steals the spotlight every time. The plant grows like a lush, green fern with flat stems that drape and cascade like a living chandelier.
It may be a cactus, but it loves water and shade - more diva than desert. Native to the tropical forests of Mexico, this epiphyte thrives in a hanging basket and turns heads wherever it grows.
Why do collectors search for it? Because it's rare, eye-catching, and just plain fun to grow. No spines, no drama - just bold flowers and easy charm. This is one of those plants that visitors always ask about. If you're a collector, it's not a want - it's a need. In cultivation, it has been confused with Disocactus jenkinsonii, a hybrid between D. phyllanthoides and D. speciosus.

Trailing Dwarf Tibouchina, Spanish shawl. Beautiful dense ever-blooming ground cover with pink flowers. Very fast growing and spreading. Can be grown in hanging baskets as well. Also great in hanging baskets.

Dorstenia bahiensis is an interesting plant with strange looking receptacles. At maturity, seeds shoot ballistically from the mature flower/fruit heads, and they germinate readily whenever the land on soil or other moist substrate.
A quirky, shade-loving plant with glossy leaves and button-like flower discs. When ripe, those button heads pop their seeds like tiny popcorn, launching them across the yard. Compact at just 6-12 inches, it makes a playful groundcover or a fun conversation piece in a pot.

Showy, variegated formThe Lucky Bamboo Plant which is an extremely popular houseplant and candidate for some aquariums, terrariums, and paluadariums. It is not actually closely related to bamboo grass, although its common name comes from its resemblance to bamboo grass. While not a true aquatic plant, the Lucky Bamboo Plant is extraordinarily popular and can often be applied to aquarium, terrarium, and paludarium setups! It should be positioned upright with its leaves clearly out of the water. There isn't really a well known reason for how this common name came about, although Dracaena sanderiana grows easily in water and the canes of the plant have a similar appearance to real bamboo stalks, it has no true connection with Japanese culture.

One of the most spectacular and easiest orchids to grow, Orange Reed Ground Orchid produces brilliant clusters of orange and gold flowers atop upright reed-like stems. Unlike many orchids, it grows happily in the ground, thrives in heat and humidity, and can bloom for much of the year. The fiery flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds, adding movement and color to the garden.
Also known as the Crucifix Orchid because of the tiny cross-shaped structure in the flower, this orchid naturally produces roots along its stems, making it easy to propagate and form large, colorful clumps over time. A cheerful, low-maintenance plant that brings the warmth and energy of a tropical sunrise to your garden.
Epidendrum is a diverse neotropical genus that has flowers characterized by a frilly or fringed lip. This feature is occasionally diagnostic to distinguish between species. These orchids are widely cultivated and may be hybridized with Sophronitis, another South American genus. The flowers are usually small and delicately colored, and borne on a dense inflorescence. Many species have a fragrance.

This crazy little cactus makes a wonderful hanging basket specimen and quite the conversation piece with its twisted, arching limbs. A night bloom epiphytic cactus with curly twisting leaves, Epiphyllum curly locks is an example of a cactus that uses its stems to capture more moisture and light. The plant has curly, curved stems which are the result of a mutation of a plant called Epiphyllum guatemalense. The name for this mutated cactus is Epiphyllum monstrosa - a jungle cactus native to Guatemala and will attach itself to a tree and live off of the composting debris that collects in the crook of the tree. Commonly called Orchid Cactus due to the blooms resembling orchid blossoms. The flowers are fragrant and usually open at night. Oval, bright pink seedy fruits form once blooms are pollinated. These fruits are juicy and edible. The plant is also self-pollinating and fruits can form even without the intervention of insects and mammals.
Epiphyllum are sensitive to being moved so choosing spot in bright, indirect light would work best. Epiphyllum will also only bloom when root bound, so take this into consideration when repotting.

Large-Fruiting Night-Blooming Climbing Orchid Cactus. A fast-growing epiphytic cactus with long, flat, cascading segments that give it a lush, tropical look even before it blooms. This seed-grown type is especially valued for its potential to produce large, edible fruit, making it more than just an ornamental plant.
The real highlight comes at night - when mature, it produces huge, fragrant white flowers that open after sunset and last just one night. The blooms are dramatic and elegant, often reaching impressive size, with a soft glow that almost looks unreal in the dark.
After flowering, the plant can set smooth, elongated fruit with mild, slightly sweet flesh. While flavor can vary from seed-grown plants, some turn out to be surprisingly good and larger than typical epiphyllum fruit.
Easy to grow and rewarding:
- Thrives in bright shade or filtered sun
- Prefers well-drained soil and regular watering
- Ideal for hanging baskets or containers where stems can cascade naturally
A unique addition to your garden - combining striking night blooms with the bonus of edible fruit.
Other names: E. strictum, E. stenopetalum, E. phyllanthus, Hookers Orchid Cactus