CONTAINER GARDEN

Panama Queen - a very rare plant with extremely tropical look, fragrant flowers of unusual color combination: orange and pink.

Banana Lakatan (also spelled Lacatan, Lactan) is one of the most prized dessert bananas, known for its rich, sweet flavor and smooth, creamy texture. The deep yellow-orange flesh is high in beta-carotene and nutrients like potassium, vitamin A, C, and B6. Lakatan fruits quickly - within 9-12 months in warm climates - and is considered the top banana variety in the Philippines. The fruit doesn't ship well, so the only way to enjoy its exceptional taste is to grow it yourself!
See photos of leaves:
Picture 1
Picture 2
See Article about Red leaf Banana.

A showy ornamental Banana with dark red leaves. Huge, tropical, ruby red leaves splashed with bright lime green, each offering a unique pattern of colors. Young plants start out more green and color intensifies with sun exposure. Thrives in hot, humid areas. Perfect for poolside plantings as a backdrop to smaller tropical plants. Stunning in large patio containers. A frost-tender perennial.
See photos of leaves:
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
See Article about Red leaf Banana.

Rare variety: Striped Philippine violet, Crested philippine violet. Very showy fall/winter bloomer. Cold hardy.

Barleria oenotheroides is a broadleaf evergreen perennial shrub with dark green, tropical looking foliage. In summer showy yellow flowers emerge and may cover the whole plant. Attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds making it an excellent addition to pollinator gardens. Grows well in both shade or sun and regular water. Does well in average, rich and well-drained soil. A good option if you're seeking something heat tolerant and humidity tolerant.

Dwarf variety of Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow. Very compact bushy shrub, 2-3 ft tall. The fragrant flowers open purple, fade to lavender, then white. Very rare brunfelsia, collectable item.
See article about Brunfelsias: Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow, Brunfelsia from Brazil.

Rare and hard to find species, with the largest wavy shaped flowers, Brunfelsia plicata (jamaicensis) is a fast-growing, small, erect, delightfully fragrant flowering shrub endemic to Jamaica. The sturdy, dark green leaves make a good background for the showy flowers. The creamy white flowers with long tubes and wavy margins are extremely fragrant after dark. Blooms fall to winter. It's a specimen plant. Perfect houseplant for a bright window.

Velvet Furry. A favorite of landscapers, this thin fuzzy rippled leaf Calathea is very attractive as well as durable. A purple leaf back adds to this plants rich color and texture.
The upper foliage of Calathea rufibarba is semi-glossy, and olive green in color. The under side of the foliage, along with the stems are rich burgundy in color. The stems are covered with fine purplish-brown hairs. Place your Calathea rufibarba in bright filtered or indirect light.
See Article - How to grow Calathea indoors.

Calathea Dottie has vivid pink markings with an entire and wavy margin. The leaf surfaces are colored very dark black-green and its midrib beautifully marked with a distinctive bright pink that also encircles the leaf about 0.5-1" from the margin. These beautiful markings remain vivid pink even as the plant matures. Newly emerged leaves are slightly lighter in color. Leaves underside is purple. Dottie has the characteristic feature of folding up their leaves at dusk to dawn by means of the tiny geniculum, an angular knee-like joint connecting it to the petiole, resembling hands put together in prayer, hence the other common name, Prayer Plant. And, in the morning the leaves will return to normal position, that is, almost perpendicular to the petioles. The plant does occasionally produce purple and white flowers. Perfect small accent plant for shade tropical gardens or as a houseplant.

Calliandra riparia, Calliandra schultzei, Dwarf Powderpuff - great for bonsai. See picture of the 3 y.o. bonsai. If grown without training, the plant will make a nice bushy little tree.
A dwarf variety, perfect houseplant, good for bonsai. Beautiful oriental looking plant.
Fluffy, pink "powderpuff" flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
Grows as a small, bushy shrub in pots but can develop into a larger, bushy tree when planted in the ground.
Thrives in full sun to partial shade and becomes drought-tolerant once established.

Cananga fruticosa - dwarf Chanel #5 Ylang-Ylang, small tree or compact shrub with scented flowers. This dwarf variety appears to be more cold hardier than regular Ylang-Ylang Tree!
Special growing instructions are here

Collectable variety of Canna Lily with bright red flowers and burgundy leaves. Each stem will produce blooms year round when mature. Adds instant color in mixed containers or landscapes. Perennial growing up to 6-7 ft, with long narrow leaves and showy red flowers. Tolerates flooding, grows well along waterline. Used in seed jewelry. This species is also used for necklaces and rosaries in India.

An exceptionally distinct pepper, it is likely an ancient hybrid of Capsicum annuum (bird pepper) and Capsicum chinense (habanero group).
While of small size (something around an inch or so long), these oddly shaped bright orange to finally red fruits are prolifically produced along the branches of compact plants with small leaves.
What separates this variety from others is its unique flavor which packs quite a bang! Not because of its heat (because our strain has either no heat what-so-ever, or so little it is hard to even detect), but because of its intense fruity habanero flavor.
If one who knows that distinct habanero super fruit flavor (which is then normally followed by the heat blast), then tries a biquinho pepper, the flavor is so distinctly habanero that when the heat blast doesn

Wiri Wiri Pepper. A variety from Guyana, the Wiri Wiri pepper is the illustrious gem; hard sought and rarely found. This plant produces good yields of small 1/2" berry shaped hot peppers. Peppers grow upright, are very hot, and turn from green, to orange, to red when mature.
What makes it so much different than any other hot pepper grown in the garden or bought at the store?
Hot? Yes, it is important that hot peppers are, but the people who really know, know that it is not just about heat, it is about flavor! And that is exactly what makes this little red gem so special. Guyanese dinners will only take one of those meals for you to never forget! The secret of their food is the flavor, and one of the cornerstone ingredients in many of their dishes is the Wiri pepper. The Guyanese population claim that it is not just a key ingredient to their diet, but also to why they are so good looking, live so long, and have such great skin.

Enchanted Incense: absolutely NEW perfume plant! It is becoming one of the most wanted in rare fragrant plant market
Beautiful striped red-and-white flowers are highly fragrant. Fragrance is the most intense you can imagine and is much better than all jasmines and gardenias all together.
The plant is very similar to plumeria in growth habit (and is close related to Plumeria). It grows into a small tree. Unlike Plumeria, it is evergreen in warm climate.
Beautiful mauve colored leaves are very ornamental.
Slow growing, compact plant, great for containers. Very undemanding and has low water needs.
This amazing flower was recommended to us by our friend horticulturist John Mood, he discovered it in Thailand.

Cinnamon is a very popular culinary spice and is also used in candy, gum, incense, toothpaste and perfumes. The oil is used in medicine as a carminative, antiseptic and astringent and source of cinnamon extract. Leaves are very fragrant and used as tea.
Read more about Cinnamon.

Clerodendrum Musical Note, Morning Kiss - very unusual and showy flowers, blooms year round, takes sun or shade.

Pagoda Flower, Orange Tower Flower. The flowers within the pyramid shaped cluster are tiered, like a Japanese pagoda. Very showy landscape shrub.

Chains of Glory, Light Bulb Flower. This elegant plant is a rare species in plant collections. The white fragrant flowers are held in loose pendulous panicles, similar to Bridal Veil (Clerodendrum wallichii). The white flowers are very showy against dark green foliage. Flowering racemes hang down a foot and a half or more. Winter bloomer. It often has two flowering periods during the winter season.

Java Glorybower, Mary Jane. Large velvety leaves and the large quantity of red-flower clusters. It is an important medicinal plant in China. Beautiful red flowers, a marvelous ornamental plant for the garden.

This graceful shrub grows up to 7 ft and has pointed narrow leaves. The white fragrant flowers are held in loose panicles. Cascades of flowers appear around Thanksgiving. Keep it out of the wind, and avoid putting it where it in hot afternoon sun. Blooming in fall-spring.

The name refers to the colorful raspberry colored stem, but that's not the only colorful thing about this Spiraling Ginger. The leaves are dark green, long and glossy with velvety deep purple undersides. The inflorescence is a vivid red with tight bracts and bold yellow flowers. The butterflies love to drink the nectar from the flowers. This is a large vigorous ginger, growing up to 5-6 ft tall.

Unusual color for tropics - Deep Sapphire! Blue Ginger is a wonderful, tropical-looking plant which resembles ginger in growth and habit. It is a great addition for a shade garden, can be grown as a container and indoor plant. In warm environment, the plant is evergreen and doesn't go dormant.

New exciting variety of Dipladenia (Mandevilla) with deep-red-vine color, petals are narrower than regular dipladenias. Flowers turn pale-lavender as they age. Very showy, a must have for exotic flower collection. This variety has compact and bushy habit, can be successfully grown in pot.

Peacock Fern is a rare collectible, valued for its habit of producing bulbils along its fronds which then develop into cute young plants right on the stem! Lush, green fern that thrives in the moist, shaded understory of forests. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.