Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
Can you eat bird-looking flowers? You can eat the whole tree!
Sesbania grandiflora - Hummingbird Tree
Sesbania grandiflora - Hummingbird Tree Red flower
Sesbania grandiflora - Hummingbird Tree White flower
- 🐧 Sesbania grandiflora - Hummingbird Tree - is named for its flowers resembling little birds.
- 🐧 It produces a mass of large, 3-4", curved flowers from November to June. Flowers can be coral red or white.
- 🐧 The fun part is - the flowers are edible! As well as the rest of the plant: tender leaves, green fruit (bean pods), and flowers, used in curries, salads, or fried in batter.
- 🐧 Medicinal uses: bark, leaves, gums, and flowers have medicinal properties.
- 🐧 Lower branches form a beautiful floral canopy. It is a fast growing, but a small tree that will fit any yard. Great everblooming tree for container culture.
🛒 Get an edible Hummingbird Tree
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TopTropicals
Date:
The Magic of 3
top tropical trees
from the legends of Caribbean
Yellow Poinciana, Jacaranda, and Royal Poinciana:
Three happy colors of the Tropics
While traveling through the vibrant and diverse Caribbean, we acquired three exquisite local paintings. Two of these are masterfully rendered on jacaranda wood plates, and the third is beautifully crafted on a calabash. These stunning pieces of art celebrate the three most spectacular and revered flowering trees of the Tropics: Yellow Poinciana, Jacaranda, and Royal Poinciana.
These trees are not only visually stunning but also deeply embedded in Caribbean culture, legends, and folk remedies.
The Yellow
Poinciana, with its bright golden blossoms, is often associated with joy and
sunlight, symbolizing the warmth of the Caribbean spirit.
The Jacaranda,
known for its striking lavender-blue flowers, is a symbol of wisdom and
rebirth, often blooming in a breathtaking display that signals the change of
seasons.
The Royal
Poinciana, with its fiery red and orange flowers, is a symbol of passion and
energy, often referred to as the "Flamboyant" tree due to its bold and dramatic
appearance.
These trees hold a special place in the hearts of the Caribbean people. They are featured in numerous local stories and songs, and their flowers and leaves are used in traditional remedies and rituals. Owning these paintings feels like possessing a piece of the Caribbean's soul and its natural beauty.
Now, we are fortunate to have not only the paintings but also the actual trees. Watching them grow and bloom in our garden brings a piece of the Caribbean to our home, a constant reminder of our travels and the vibrant culture we experienced. These trees and their representations in art are a testament to the region's rich heritage and its enduring connection to nature.
Get them now while we have them. No need to go too far into Caribbean!
Peltophorum africanum - Golden Flamboyant, Yellow Poinciana. An excellent garden shade tree, beautiful in flower. This variety starts flowering at young age, in 3 gal pot.
Jacaranda mimosifolia - Hypnotizing bluish-purple, trumpet-like flowers create the magical image of the tree. Incredible, long-lasting purple blooms. When the trumpet-shaped blooms finally fall, they form a lilac carpet beneath the awe-inspiring Jacaranda for luxuriant curb appeal...
Royal poinciana, Flamboyant tree, Delonix regia - "One of the most spectacular flowering trees in the USA, and probably among the top 10 on this planet. In full bloom, it is like a regal elephant caparisoned in red and yellow brilliance." (Larry M. Schokman, The Kampong, National Tropical Botanic Garden)
Would you like some Scrambled Eggs? Scrambled Egg Bush is a burst of sunshine, this splash of gold blooms on and on
Senna surattensis (Cassia glauca) - Scrambled Egg Bush
Senna surattensis (Cassia glauca) - Scrambled Egg Bush
Senna surattensis (Cassia glauca) - Scrambled Egg Bush
Senna surattensis (Cassia glauca) - Scrambled Egg Bush
- 🌞 Senna surattensis (Cassia glauca) - Scrambled Egg Bush - produces vibrant, sunny yellow flowers that resemble scrambled eggs, adding a cheerful touch to your garden.
- 🌞 Long blooming season: flowers profusely throughout much of the year.
- 🌞 Compact: grows into a manageable, medium-sized shrub, perfect for smaller gardens or as a stunning focal point.
- 🌞 Low maintenance: easy to care for and requires minimal attention, making it ideal for busy gardeners.
- 🌞 Drought tolerant: thrives in dry conditions once established, reducing the need for frequent watering.
- 🌞 Attracts Pollinators: draws bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects, enhancing garden biodiversity.
- 🌞 Versatile: can be used as a standalone specimen, hedge, or in mixed borders for added interest.
- 🌞 Soil Improvement: enhances soil quality through nitrogen fixation, benefiting nearby plants.
- 🌞 Hardy and resilient: adapts well to cool winter, heat and poor soil.
- 🌞 Evergreen: retains its green leaves all year round, providing constant coverage and aesthetic appeal.
🛒 Order Scrambled Egg Bush
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Dwarf Poinciana we have now in our Nursery - beautiful bushes in 3-15 gal pots, in full bloom
Dwarf Poinciana - Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Red
📚 See our previous post about Dwarf Poinciana.
🛒 Order online
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What do you think about this Giant? This is the coolest looking flower!
Aristolochia gigantea var. Brasiliensis - Giant Pelican Flower
Aristolochia gigantea var. Brasiliensis - Giant Pelican Flower
Aristolochia gigantea var. Brasiliensis - Giant Pelican Flower
Aristolochia gigantea var. Brasiliensis - Giant Pelican Flower
- Aristolochia gigantea var. Brasiliensis - Giant Pelican Flower - is one of the most outrageous flowers in the world.
- This striking plant from Brazil is known for its outrageous, huge - over ten-inch-long - lemon-scented flowers 🍋
- Flowers have an elaborate pattern of white and mottled reddish brown.
- Not a vigorous vine, making it easy to train on a stake, trellis, or in a hanging basket.
- Rare and highly collectible variety.
- Like all Dunchman's Pipes we mentioned earlier, this plant is a great butterfly attractor.
🛒 Shop Aristolochia vines
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Why sunflowers are growing on a tree?
Tree Marigold (Tithonia diversifolia)
Tree Marigold (Tithonia diversifolia)
Tree Marigold (Tithonia diversifolia)
Tree Marigold (Tithonia diversifolia)
- 🌻
🛒 Get Sunflower Tree for your Happy Garden
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Why this Bleeding Heart is bleeding pink?
Clerodendrum speciosum - Red Bleeding Heart
Clerodendrum speciosum, also known as the Red Bleeding Heart, is a captivating twist on the classic Bleeding Heart, C. thomsoniae that we mentioned earlier.
- ❣️ Features stunning pink bracts and vibrant red heart-shaped flowers, enhancing the charm of the original variety.
- ❣️ Vigorous and fast-growing vine, perfect for creating a privacy hedge (as on the video) or a cascading floral display over a fence.
- ❣️ Butterflies and bees adore its bright pink-and-red flowers, making it a pollinator-friendly choice 🐝
- ❣️ Ideal for quickly covering fences or structures with its lush, showy blooms in just one season.
🛒 Order Red Bleeding Heart
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Another flamingo pink Quisqualis in full bloom
Quisqualis
🛒 Get your own Quisqualis vine
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Purple sandpaper? You cant get enough of this purple! And it has plenty of it: Queens Wreath
Petrea volubilis, Queen's Wreath, Sandpaper vine
Petrea volubilis, Queen's Wreath, Sandpaper vine
Petrea volubilis, Queen's Wreath, Sandpaper vine
Petrea volubilis, Queen's Wreath, Sandpaper vine
Petrea volubilis, Queen's Wreath, Sandpaper vine
Petrea volubilis, Queen's Wreath, Sandpaper vine
Petrea volubilis, Queen's Wreath, Sandpaper vine
Petrea volubilis, Queen's Wreath, Sandpaper vine
- 🟣 Petrea volubilis, also known as Queen's Wreath or Sandpaper vine, is a twining vine with large, rough leaves - just like a sandpaper!
- 🟣 But look at the flowers - spectacular Royal show! Does it remind you of a Northern Wisteria? It is actually another common name of Petrea - Tropical Wisteria.
- 🟣 The tall clusters of purple flowers, reaching over 1 foot long 👀 are truly spectacular.
- 🟣 Thriving in warm and humid conditions, its blooms last a couple of days, but the blue calices persist much longer, and more new flowers are coming every day.
- 🟣 Attracts butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds 🐝
- 🟣 This woody vine grows fast and can cover a large fence within just a couple of seasons. It's a show stopper! 👏
🛒 Get the Royal Queen's Wreath 👑
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