Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 1 Oct 2025

Ten shrubs you need to have for winter colors

Garlic Vine, Dombeya - Tropical Hydrangea, Brunfelsia Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow, Fountain Clerodendrum, Tibouchina grandifolia - Glory bush, Chinese hat, Barleria - Philippine violet, Thunbergia - Kings Mantle, Eranthemum - Blue Sage or Lead Flower, Petrea vine - Queens wreath

🌷 Ten shrubs you need to have for winter colors



Many snowbirds ask what to plant when they’re here just for the season. The answer is simple: go for trees and shrubs that bloom in winter. Fall is the perfect time to get them in the ground so your garden will be bursting with flowers once the cool season arrives. In our earlier video, we shared 8 best flowering trees that will bloom for you in Winter. Now, here are the shrubs that will complete your colorful winter garden.
  • 🌷 1. Mansoa alliacea - Garlic Vine
  • Known for its garlicky scent, it also puts on clusters of lavender to purple flowers in cool weather. Reliable and eye-catching, often trained on fences or trellises. 👉plant it
  • 🌷 2. Dombeya wallichii - Tropical Hydrangea
  • Large pink pompom clusters hang like lanterns from the branches. Sweetly fragrant and showy, it creates a hydrangea effect right in winter. 👉plant it
  • 🌷 3. Brunfelsia pauciflora Compacta - Dwarf Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow
  • Small and manageable, it opens purple flowers that fade to lavender and then white, giving the look of three colors at once. A cheerful winter bloomer for pots or borders. 👉plant it
  • 🌷 4. Clerodendrum minahassae - Fountain Clerodendrum
  • This shrub lives up to its name with cascades of long white flower sprays, blooming heavily in the cooler months and brightening shaded corners. 👉plant it
  • 🌷 5. Tibouchina multiflora (grandifolia) - Glory bush, Quaresmeira
  • Covered in clusters of soft, fuzzy purple blooms, this shrub adds tropical flair during the cooler months. Its velvety leaves are ornamental year-round. 👉plant it
  • 🌷 6. Holmskioldia sanguinea - Red Chinese hat
  • Cup-shaped bracts form red “hats” around small flowers. This shrub stands out with unique form and long-lasting blooms. 👉plant it
  • 🌷 7. Barleria cristata - Philippine violet
  • A hardy shrub with masses of purple-violet blooms in the cool season. It flowers when many plants are quiet, adding dependable winter color. 👉plant it
  • 🌷 8. Thunbergia erecta - King’s Mantle
  • A compact shrub with velvety purple blooms and bright yellow throats. It’s neat, easy to manage, and flowers generously in winter. 👉plant it
  • 🌷 9. Eranthemum pulchellum - Blue Sage, Lead Flower
  • Few shrubs can match its electric-blue spikes of flowers in winter. Compact and low-care, it brings a rare color to the cool season garden. 👉plant it
  • 🌷 10. Petrea volubilis (racemosa) - Queen’s wreath
A woody vine-shrub that bursts into cascading sprays of lavender stars. It flowers heavily in winter, resembling wisteria in the tropics. 👉plant it
🛒 Explore Winter bloomers

📚 Learn more:


#Hedges_with_benefits #Discover

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Date: 4 Oct 2025

The secret tree behind Chanel No 5 perfume

Ylang-Ylang (Cananga odorata), Chanel No 5 Tree

👑 The secret tree behind Chanel No 5 perfume

  • ⭐️ Ylang-Ylang (Cananga odorata, Chanel No 5 Tree) is the tree behind the worlds most famous fragrance - Chanel No. 5. Its golden, star-like flowers drip from the branches with a scent so powerful you can smell it from yards away.
  • ⭐️ Native to Indonesia and Southeast Asia, this tropical evergreen can reach impressive heights, yet it blooms almost year-round, covering itself in clusters of perfumed flowers. This is one of the most beautiful, fast growing and beneficial flowering trees for Southern landscapes.
  • ⭐️The fragrance shifts as the blooms age, from green to lemon yellow to deep golden, each stage producing an intoxicating scent prized in perfumery and aromatherapy. Even without flowers, its tiered branches and glossy leaves create a striking, almost Christmas-tree effect.
  • ⭐️For smaller spaces, a dwarf form, Cananga fruticosa, brings the same beauty and scent in patio-friendly size. Whether towering or compact, Ylang-Ylang is more than a plant - it's living perfume in your garden.


🛒 Get your own Chanel #5 Tree

📚 Learn more:



📱 What is Chanel No5 made of? The story of Ylang-Ylang

🔽The Ylang-Ylang - Queen of the Perfume World - book - PDF file download

#Perfume_Plants #Trees

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Date: 8 Feb 2023

Gift Plants

Jasmine  Sambac  Maid  of  Orleans

In the photo: fragrant Jasmine Sambac Maid of Orleans

How to make the best gift plant?

1. Consider her/his interests and environment: Think about the recipient's favorite colors, preferred growing conditions (e.g. sunlight, temperature), and any specific plants they already have and like.

2. Choose an easy plant, especially when giving it to inexperienced gardener. Desert roses, Plumerias, Indoor plants are great for both beginners and experts.

3. Something to enjoy right away: Select an established plant with developed roots and foliage. Grafted fruit trees will produce soon, and aroma of a spice tree can be appreciated without waiting for it to grow bigger. House plants such as Philodendrons with ornamental foliage will brighten the room.

4. Presentation matters: Wrap the plant in decorative paper or a gift bag, and consider adding a bow or tag for a personal touch.

5. Add a personal touch: Consider pairing the plant with a personalized message or a small item such as a watering can, plant food, or a pretty planter. Your thoughtfulness will make the gift even more special.

Some gift plant ideas: Jasmines - Desert Roses - Gingers - Mango - Avocado - Spice plants - Indoor plants - easy maintenance plants - Plants of Love: Aphrodisiacs.

Annona  Tree  Sugar  Apple  with  fruit  on  it

In the photo: Annonas are one of the most popular tropical fruit trees, fast fruiting, suitable for small gardens and container culture

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Date: 22 Sep 2022

Ceiba pentandra, Kapok Tree:
Maya's Sacred Tree at the Center of the Earth

by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats

Ceiba  pentandra,  Kapok  Tree

...Everybody who sees this tree for the first time, always says "What's THAT???" And everybody wants to have one! Kapok Tree is a large, magestic, gorgeous shade tree that just requires a little bit of space in your garden! It is definitely a conversation piece and is a must for every botanical garden or a large private tropical tree collection. Kapok is a fast growing tree, however, it may take many years to reach its mature size. It is worth the wait though!..

Ceiba  pentandra,  Kapok  Tree  FLOWER

Buy Kapok Tree

Date: 9 Sep 2022

Napoleana - Napoleon's Hat

Endangered species from the outgone era of the Napoleon's War

by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats

Napoleonaea  imperialis  -  Napoleons  Hat,  flowers

...Napoleana was described in 1804, the same year its namesake (Napoleone di Buonaparte) crowned himself Emperor of the French. Today the tree is almost extinct. Esteemed for the exquisite, vividly colored, exotic hat-shaped flowers, Napoleana is a must of a rare tropical tree collection. Napoleana seeds constitute a false kola, which has a taste closely resembling that of true kola. The flowers are fragrant and smell like Butterscotch...
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Napoleonaea  imperialis  -  Napoleons  Hat,  bushy  tree

Buy the Napoleon's Hat