Thank you for coming to Plant Market in Ft Myers

Kristi Vanbenschoten, Top Tropicals manager, and Persephone the cat

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported our Holiday Plant Market last Saturday, December 13, 2025. It was great to see familiar faces, meet new visitors, and watch the garden fill with people exploring, asking questions, and choosing new plants to take home. Our CatsPeople were busy greeting guests, supervising carts, and making sure everyone felt welcome. Your support and good energy are what make these events special for us. We hope your new plants settle in beautifully, and we look forward to seeing you back in the garden soon!

Check out Event Mementos

🎄 From our home and garden to yours!

Hello friends,

From our home and garden to yours, we wish you a warm and peaceful holiday season. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, as it comes to a close, Kwanzaa, Feliz Navidad, the New Year, or all of the above, we hope your days are filled with light and the promise of what is growing ahead.

Gardening connects us across seasons, cultures, and traditions, and we are grateful to share this journey with you.

🎉 2026 Gardening Resolution That Actually Works

According to our experts: Smokey and Sunshine. When we say experts, we do not mean consultants or trend writers. We mean two real gardeners. Smokey watches patterns. Sunshine notices when people rush. Together, they explain what actually works.

Smokey: Hello gardeners. 2026 is the Year of the Horse.

Sunshine: Horses do not garden.

Smokey: Please do not interrupt me. No, they do not. That is just the calendar. What matters is what gardeners do at the start of every new year. They often rush and repeat the same mistakes.

Sunshine: The biggest one is rushing the garden before morning coffee.

Smokey: Correct. Rushing looks like effort, but it is usually just impatience. Gardens punish impatience very reliably.

Most early-season problems come from doing things too soon:
- watering before roots are active
- fertilizing before growth begins
- planting before conditions settle
- poking plants daily to check how the roots are growing

Sunshine: If you are poking the roots, the plant was fine until you started poking it.

Smokey: Good gardening is not constant action. It is knowing when to act and when to stop interfering.
- Plant when the timing is right.
- Let roots work quietly.
- Leave resting plants alone.

Sunshine: Coffee first. Donuts optional, but highly recommended.

Smokey: One last thing, while you are not rushing.

Our gift cards are still on promotion. They do not need planting, watering, or timing decisions today.

A gift card is a symbol of patience. Buy it now. Use it when the moment is right.

Smokey and Sunshine:
Our resolution for 2026 is simple: stop rushing the garden. Wishing you a calm, steady, coffee-fueled 2026 garden 🐾🌿

☘️ What plants are easy to ship in Winter?

Ordering plants in winter is often easier than people expect - and for many plants, it is actually better. Lush foliage plants like philodendrons and medinilla, fine-leaved trees such as moringa, jacaranda, and poinciana, and even sensitive fruit trees like papaya, jackfruit or starfruit ship more safely in cool weather without overheating stress.

Winter is also ideal for subtropical and cold-tolerant plants, dormant or deciduous plants like plumeria and adenium, orchids - including ground orchids and vanilla orchids, and winter bloomers that flower their best right now. Winter care is simple: water less, use gentle liquid amino-acid fertilizers like Sunshine Boosters, and monitor insects.

In mild climates, many tropicals can be planted anytime, while extra-tender plants can stay potted until spring. Winter is a perfect time to bring tropical warmth indoors and enjoy greenery when you need it most.