Date: 29 Jul 2018
Fragrant garden
Q: I love fragrant plants and I want to make a fragrant garden. Your website offers amazing selection. A friend of mine told me I should be careful with planting fragrant plants next to each other, and that mix of fragrances may create a funny combination. Are there any flowers that don't go together?
A: Flower scents, unlike perfumes, are pure natural and not as intoxicating to create funny combinations. Although some of them can be strong and even overwhelming. Example - Night Blooming Jasmine, Cestrum nocturnum, which fragrance at night is super-sweet; however most people like it. Reality is, even Night Blooming Jasmine planted next to Gardenia won't create a bad mixture, although one scent may somewhat take over another. In any case, with wind blowing in your garden, you will never be disappointed with fragrant garden. Some plants, like Ylang Ylang - Cananga odorata, or Magnolia champaca, create very fine fragrance that can be smelled yards away, other flowers you will need to stick your nose into.
Check out plants for fragrant garden
Date: 24 Jun 2018
How to keep your plants green
We continue experimenting with a new plant health booster SUNSHINE SuperFood. Couple weeks ago we grabbed a very sad looking jasmine with completely yellow leaves... It suffered from winter cool night temperatures plus some overwatering that caused weak roots and due to that - a number of deficiencies. The plant looked pretty hopeless as far as turning yellow leaves back to green. The best bet to revive it was to cut it short, remove old leaves and wait for new healthy growth... but we decided to try SuperFood. And it worked! Since the plant was almost hopeless, we put it in a far corner and forgot about it. Imagine the surprise when we looked again and it was green! See full plant photo of this jasmine.
Try SUNSHINE SuperFood on sick
looking plants, especially with yellowing and/or deformed
leaves. There are no miracles, but this one works a like a
Miracle! All you need is a few drops of SUNSHINE SuperFood - item 6000!
Read more about SUNSHINE
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Date: 23 Nov 2025
🏡 To Use Your Garden Or Be Used By It
Smokey and Sunshine November Planting.
Smokey: Winter roots make spring easy. Keep that plant straight.
Sunshine: I am keeping it straight by not touching it at all.
Smokey: That is exactly what I was afraid of.
November is the month when the garden finally stops yelling at you. The heat backs off, the bugs calm down, and the weeds take a breath. This is when we get to take control again. And as gardeners, we know the truth: Either you use your garden, or your garden will use you in spring. Let me walk you through this, gardener to gardener.
"November is when the garden finally listens. Give it a little direction now, shape it, guide it, and prepare it for spring. It will reward you all year." - Tatiana Anderson, Top Tropicals Plant Expert
🌴 When The Garden Uses You
We have all lived this scene:
- March weeds appear, and two days later it looks like a jungle.
- One missed watering turns into five wilted plants and a full week of recovery.
- A skipped feeding shows up as yellow leaves and panic searching online.
- Bugs return fast, and suddenly you are washing leaves every other day.
- Random plant purchases fill your yard with chaos and mismatched care needs.
- When the garden takes control, spring feels like hard work, not joy.
Overgrown Tropical Garden Showing How a Garden Can Use You
📊 When You Use Your Garden
November flips the script. Plants slow down. Soil stays warm. This is the safest month to experiment, move plants, fix mistakes, and redesign.
What you do now pays off huge in March.
- You map out sun zones and shade zones.
- You mulch now so weeds do not explode later.
- You move plants to better positions without heat stress.
- You remove the high-drama plants before they start another season of complaints.
- You pick what you want for next year instead of letting impulse buys rule you.
Spring becomes smooth instead of overwhelming. And honestly? It feels good to walk outside in March and see order instead of chaos.
In the photo: Every garden starts in small steps. Biquinho Pepper (front) in the garden.
What Benefit Do You Get Personally?
- Less watering.
- Fewer bugs.
- Bigger fruit.
- Better flowering.
- Less money wasted.
- Less time fixing problems you could have prevented now.
This is why experienced tropical gardeners adore November.
In the photo: Organized Tropical Garden. Firebush (lemon gold variety) and Cordylines (Ti Leaf) make colorful spots in the garden.
🐭 Start With Something Small Today (5 Minutes)
Pick one:
- Add mulch to the driest spot in your yard.
- Cut one dead branch from any tree.
- Move one pot to a better sun angle.
- Pull three weeds from the worst area.
- Water deeply once this week.
Small steps now save hours later.
⭐ One Short Story
Last year we planted a Star Fruit in November. By March, it was already covered in flowers, and have been harvesting fruit non-stop since then! That is what winter planning does: it gives plants a head start you can actually see.
🐍 Plants That Will Use You If You Let Them
These are great plants, but only if you plan before planting them:
- Banana (thirsty)
- Hibiscus (hungry)
- Brugmansia (sensitive)
- Passion vine (takes over anything it touches)
Place them wrong, and they become full-time jobs.
In the photo: Passion Vine taking over the swing.
🐰 Plants That Work For You
These feel like free upgrades to the yard:
- Moringa - grows almost on autopilot
- Star Fruit - continuous production
- Dragon Fruit - minimal effort for big results
- Cattley Guava - cold hardy, compact and fruitful
- Loquat - fast fruiting and hardy
- Mulberry - very cold hardy with fruit abundance
- Tabebuia - spectacular winter colors
- Brunfelsia - reliable night fragrance in shade
- Adenium - perfect container showstopper
- Jasmine - instant fragrance
- Mexican Flame Vine - fast growing yet controllable vine
- Wiri Wiri and Biquinho Peppers - always available for your kitchen
- Firebush, Hamelia - everblooming and hardy butterfly native
- Cordyline Ti Leaf - instant leaf colors
- Megaskepasma Brazilian plume - lush tropical foliage with red blooms in shade or sun
- Iris - hardy easy low-growing native for any soil
- Champaka, Joy Perfume Tree - legendary perfume tree that blooms almost year round
- Olive tree - maintenance-free source of olives
- Plumeria - instant Hawaiian perfume flowers all summer
- Dombeya - spectacular hydrangea-like blooms all winter
- Insulin Ginger - instant nature remedy
- Eugenia Cherries and Barbados Cherry - immediate fruit, compact trees for small gardens or pots
- Peanut Butter tree - exotic sweet fruit like peanut butter, compact tree
- Blackberry Jam fruit - exotic fruit like blackberry jam, very small tree
- Colocasia - instant tropical look with Elephant ears
- Strawberry tree - sweet cotton-candy fruit year around
- Papaya - fits any yard, delicious fruit and natural digestive remedy
Pick even one of these and your garden starts giving back.
In the photo: Cattley Guava brings not only tasty fruit but also a wonderful character with its amazing multi-color twisted trunk.
🌡️ November Advantage
You cannot ruin anything in November. This is the safest, calmest month to shape your garden the way you want. If you act now, spring becomes a victory lap. If you wait, spring becomes a rescue mission.
In the photo: Adenium is a colorful accent in the garden.
💐 Thanksgiving Tie-In
This is the season to reset, breathe, and be thankful for your outdoor space. A garden that works for you is one of the best gifts you can give yourself going into the new year.
Start your November plan today. Use your garden. Do not let it use you.
In the photo: Megaskepasma, Iris, Colocasia, Crotons, Dracaena and Ti Leaf bring instant tropical look to your garden.
Date: 6 Feb 2026
💕How would you like to give a Valentine plant gift?
Choose the plant
If you already know what feels right, choose the plant now. Sweetheart Hoya is a favorite for a reason, and there are other Valentine plants to explore if you want options.
A good choice when you feel confident, love plants, or are gifting something meant to live indoors.
Let your Valentine choose
If timing, weather, or choice feels uncertain, a Gift Card keeps the moment simple. Your Valentine can choose the perfect plant when the time is right.
Especially helpful for gardeners up north, or when you want the gift to unfold later.
About shipping and timing
We ship live plants with care and pay close attention to weather along the way. If conditions are not right, we may hold a shipment briefly to keep plants safe.
If timing or weather makes you hesitate, a Gift Card is an easy way to give a Valentine gift now and choose the plant later, when conditions are perfect.
More Valentines Gift Plants
- Valentines plants from around the world that symbolize love, connection, and appreciation. 👉Learn
- Top nine plants of love, desire, and the senses: aphrodisiacs and sensory connections. 👉Learn
- Four popular plants of friendship, appreciation, and shared connection. 👉Learn
- Eight favorite plants of romance, affection, and emotional connection. 👉Learn
Date: 22 Apr 2016
Plant Horoscope. Taurus Zodiac lucky plants: Fragrant Cananga odorata and Chonemorpha
Taurus - 4/20-5/20. Taurus is an EARTH sign ruled by the planet Venus.
Venus is the planet that represents desire and beauty, regarded as the female embodiment of sexual love and human appetite, so Taurus plants often have gorgeous flowers and enticing fragrances and, occasionally, red fruit. It rules the internal sexual organs, the nose and sense of smell.
Because Taurus rules the throat and ears, the best plants for the Bull are often soothing to the throat, or may calm the digestive system after overindulging in the finest foods. Taurus is related to those things we want and value. It harmonizes various body systems, and influences the complexion and facial appearance. Also under Venus's dominion are the abdomen, kidney, thymus, and breasts. Venus-governed herbs are soothing and help to regulate the body's metabolism through the endocrine system. Taurus herbs are traditionally used to attract money and resources. Earthy Taurus sign is all about building a stable and comfortable foundation and can help you generate greater abundance and prosperity in your life.
Taurus Zodiac lucky plants - Aglaia, Cananga odorata (Ylang-Ylang), Artabotrys (Climbing Ylang-Ylang), Cerbera, Night blooming jasmine, Chonemorpha, Erblichia, Euodia, Hiptage, Iboza (Musk Bush), Anise, Lavender, Lonchocarpus Lilac Tree, Nutmeg, Parijat, Camphor Basil, Osmanthus, Funeral tree, Quisqualis, Satureja (Kama Sutra Mint Tree), Viburnum, Carissa, Murraya, Curry Leaf, Bunchosia (Peanut butter fruit), Eucalyptus, Lily, Vitex agnus castus (Blue Chaste Tree), Alstonia scholaris (Sapthaparni), Papaya, Maple, Jasmine, Guaiacum, Camellia, Ephedra, Fuchsia, Geranium, Spider lily, Gardenia, Magnolia, Plumeria, Paeonia, Verbena, Clerodendrums, Apple, Pear, Apricot, Peach, Plantain, Olive, Grape, Pomegranate, Mango, Neem Tree, Cherry, Cypresses, all Berries, Raspberry, Asparagus, Mint, Clove, Roses, Stagshorn fern, Catnip.
For other signs information, see full Plant Horoscope.
April 22 Earth Day discount - 15% off fragrant plants! Earth Day is more than just a single day â€"April 22, 2016. It's bigger than attending a rally and taking a stand. Plant one tree at a time to make our Planet better! This Earth Day and beyond, let's make big stuff happen. - See more at: www.earthday.org
Check out our Fragrant Plants