Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 29 Oct 2025

Grow your own brain food: Avocado and Cocoa

Avocado and Cocoa recipes

Avocado and Cocoa recipes

Chocolate tree fruit (Cocoa, Cacao beans) - Theobroma cacao

Chocolate tree fruit (Cocoa, Cacao beans) - Theobroma cacao

Avocado fruit

Avocado fruit

☕️ Grow your own brain food: Avocado and Cocoa

  • Avocado and cocoa aren't just a delicious combo - they’re also great for your brain. Studies show that Avocado's healthy fats improve blood flow and memory, while Cocoa’s flavonoids boost attention, mood, and overall cognitive performance. Together, they help protect brain cells from inflammation and aging.
  • Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fats and lutein, nutrients that support sharp thinking and long-term brain health. Cocoa, meanwhile, enhances circulation in the brain and has been linked to lower risk of stroke and dementia. So, growing your own avocado and cacao trees means growing your own natural brain boosters right in your garden.
  • Try blending the two in simple treats like avocado chocolate mousse or a smoothie with banana and almond milk - creamy, rich, and packed with brain-loving nutrients.


🍽 Delicious Avocado-Chocolate recipes:

  • 🍵 Avocado Chocolate Mousse


    To make this, simply blend ripe avocado, unsweetened cocoa powder, honey (or maple syrup), and a splash of vanilla for a rich, creamy mousse that feels indulgent yet guilt-free.
  • 🍵 Avocado Chocolate Smoothie


    This is perfect for breakfast and to make it, combine avocado, cocoa powder, banana, almond milk, and a touch of nut butter for a thick, chocolatey breakfast smoothie.
  • 🍵 Avocado Brownies


    This one is for the sweet tooth lovers, use mashed avocado in regular brownie batter, add cocoa powder, and bake for fudgy, nutrient-dense brownies.
  • 🍵 Chocolate Avocado Pudding Pops


    To make this bite-size snack, blend avocado, cocoa powder, dates (or honey), and coconut milk, then freeze in molds for refreshing delights.


🛒 Plant your own Chocolate tree (Cocoa, Cacao), and Avocado tree for long lasting brain power

📚 Learn more:
#Food_Forest #Remedies #Discover #Recipes

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 8 Dec 2025

Greetings from outside of Tropics: Masyanya

Cat Masyanya

Cat Masyanya

Cat Masyanya

Cat Masyanya

Cat Masyanya

Cat Masyanya

Cat Masyanya

Cat Masyanya

Cat Masyanya

Cat Masyanya

🏳️ Greetings from outside of Tropics: Masyanya



🐈📸 Cat Masyanya, a friend of PeopleCats.Garden.
Masyanya lives in a snowy village by Vladimir city, Russia.
Her message to us: "You guys are lucky to live in the Tropics in Peace, and have TopTropicals by your side who can send you tropical plants! And here... some day the Spring will come, and the Happiness will overcome. Be grateful for what you got - Happy Holidays! Love and Peace" 💕 🕊️

#PeopleCats

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 13 Dec 2025

Holiday Plant Market Event Mementos

Holiday Plant Market Event Mementos

🎄 Holiday Plant Market Event Mementos

  • Thank you to everyone who came out for our Holiday Plant Market!
  • It was a joy watching the garden fill up with familiar friends and first-time visitors all exploring, chatting, and discovering new favorites.
  • Our PeopleCats took their jobs very seriously, trotting ahead of guests, inspecting carts, and making sure no one left without the perfect plant. The whole place buzzed with good moods, warm weather, and that fun holiday energy only a tropical garden can create.
  • If you see yourself or your friends on the photos, save or forward to share the memories!
  • If you spot yourself or someone you know in the photos, go ahead and save them or pass them along. We hope your new plants settle in beautifully, and we look forward to seeing you back in the garden soon. Happy holidays and happy growing!
  • Check out more pictures of the Event


📱 Watch this slideshow on YouTube

#PeopleCats

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 10 Dec 2025

The secret New Deal Franklin Roosevelt never told you about

Schlumbergera x New Deal - Thanksgiving-to-Easter blooming Cactus

🌸 The secret New Deal Franklin Roosevelt never told you about

  • 🌸 Schlumbergera x New Deal is not your regular Christmas cactus. Big blooms, long history. This heirloom flowers from Thanksgiving to Easter and descends from a plant first sold on the very day Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected.
  • This variety actually vanished from the trade for decades. Its first known appearance was at a rare plant sale at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on November 8, 1932 - the exact day Franklin Roosevelt won the presidency and launched the famous New Deal. The name stuck, and so did the legend!
  • 🌸 What makes New Deal so special? The blooms are huge - about an inch larger than standard holiday cactus flowers - and come in brilliant violet-pink and white. And the timing is even better. It sends up a full flush around Thanksgiving and Christmas, then wakes up again with a second wave closer to Easter. That’s why some people call it a Thanksgiving cactus, others call it a Christmas cactus, and many insist it’s an Easter cactus. The truth? It’s all three.
  • 🌸 Despite its pedigree, New Deal is surprisingly easy to grow. It thrives in normal houseplant conditions, stays compact, and rewards even casual care with heavy, reliable blooming.
  • 🌸 The plants available today come from true descendant cuttings of an original 1932 specimen that is still alive. This makes New Deal one of the rarest, most authentic holiday cactus cultivars you can own - a living slice of history and one of the most generous bloomers of the entire holiday season.


🛒 Get the New Deal: the Thanksgiving-to-Easter bloomer

📚 Learn more:

Plant Facts

Schlumbergera sp.
Orchid Cactus, Thanksgiving Cactus, Christmas Cactus, Easter Cactus, Crab Cactus
USDA Zone: 9-11
Groundcover and low-growing 2ft plantSemi-shadeShadeRegular waterEpiphyte plantYellow, orange flowersRed, crimson, vinous flowersWhite, off-white flowersPink flowersSubtropical plant. Mature plant cold hardy at least to 30s F for a short time

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Nature_Wonders

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 3 Dec 2024

What is the most exquisite tropical Christmas flower?

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

Ruellia colorata, Colorama

🎄 What is the most excusive tropical Christmas flower?

  • 🎅 A festive showstopper, Ruellia colorata, known as Colorama, is a rare and vibrant addition to exotic container plant collection. Its brilliant scarlet bracts color up for Christmas and stay bright carmine for several months.
  • 🎅 Native to Brazil, this small plant grows 2-4 feet tall, displaying brilliant scarlet bracts and crimson flowers that stay bright for months, adding a touch of holiday cheer.
  • 🎅 One of Colorama's most striking features is its photoperiodic response: the top leaves turn crimson red around Christmas time due to changes in daylight length, much like the beloved Poinsettia. After winter, these leaves return to green, keeping the plant lively and versatile year-round.
  • Photoperiodism is the process where plants respond to the length of day and night, triggering changes such as leaf coloration or flowering.
  • 🎅 Its blooms are a magnet for butterflies and hummingbirds, making it a favorite for wildlife enthusiasts.
  • 🎅 Colorama thrives in shady to semi-shady spots and requires regular watering to stay lush and healthy. It's perfect for USDA zones 9-11 but can also be grown in colder regions if protected from frost. For winter care in cooler climates, move it indoors or to a warm area to keep this stunning beauty happy and blooming.
  • 🎅 When grown in pots, ensure good drainage, use rich organic soil, and place the plant in a bright location.
  • 🎅 Prune twice a year to maintain its compact, bushy shape, and fertilize with a flowering fertilizer once established.


🛒 Get your own Exclusive Christmas Colorama

#Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Butterfly_Plants

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals