Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 17 May 2025

Why Hummingbird Tree?

Sesbania grandiflora (Hummingbird Tree)

Why Hummingbird Tree?



🍥 Why is Sesbania grandiflora (Hummingbird Tree) so popular? Because it's as useful as it is beautiful. This small, fast-growing tree stands out with its striking, bird-shaped flowers and incredible versatility:

🍥 Ornamental beauty: The large flowers (ivory-white or red) resemble little birds and bloom in abundance, creating a floral canopy from fall through summer.

🍥 Edible flowers and leaves: Used in curries, salads, and even fried in batter. Tender leaves and green fruits are also eaten in Southeast Asian cuisine.

🍥 Fast-growing, flood-tolerant: Great for reforestation, shade, or as a quick ornamental tree for wet or challenging areas.

🍥 Medicinal: Every part of the plant is used: bark for fiber and medicine, flowers for food, wood for light construction, gum for fishing lines, and even as natural pest control.

🍥 It's a food plant, a medicine cabinet, a garden centerpiece, and a support system for other plants - all in one tree. That's why gardeners, farmers, and chefs all love the Hummingbird Tree.

🛒 Get an edible Hummingbird Tree

📚 Learn more about Sesbanias:


Black flowered Sesbania
Hummingbird trss: you can eat the whole tree!

#Food_Forest #Remedies #Butterfly_Plants #Container_Garden #Fun_Facts

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 16 Aug 2025

Variegated Chaya - beauty meets nutrition

Cnidoscolus aconitifolius variegatus - Variegated Chaya, Maya Spinach Tree

🌱 Variegated Chaya - beauty meets nutrition



🌿 Variegated Chaya - Variegated Maya Spinach Tree or Cnidoscolus aconitifolius variegatus - is a showstopper in the edible garden. Its heavily cut, creamy-white variegated leaves look like they belong in a tropical ornamental bed, but this beauty is also a powerhouse leafy green.

🌿 Native to the Yucatan Peninsula, Chaya has been a traditional food for centuries. Younger leaves (and a little stem) are cooked like spinach, simmered for at least 5-15 minutes to neutralize toxins, then served with butter, oil, or in soups. Once cooked, they’re loaded with protein, calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C - a true garden superfood.

🌿 Fast-growing and low-maintenance, Chaya can reach 6-8 feet and thrives in full sun or partial shade. It's drought-tolerant, attracts butterflies and hummingbirds with its white flowers, and grows easily from cuttings. Perfect for food forests, permaculture gardens, or anyone wanting beauty and function in one plant.

🛒 Plant it, cook it, love it

📚 Learn more:


Bright, bold, and edible: Variegated Chaya
Chaya's health benefits: a must-have tropical leafy vegetable for sustainable gardening

#Food_Forest #Remedies

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Date: 18 Aug 2025

No food in years

No food in years

No food in years



"You go ahead and eat... I'll just lie here. No strength left, haven't been fed in ages. No, no, don't worry, no pressure at all. Definitely not a hunger faint." - Macaron the Cat

🐈📸 Cat Macaron laying on the table dramatically... not hungry, not fainting, totally fine... At Top Tropicals PeopleCats.Garden

#PeopleCats

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Date: 14 Sep 2025

Banned Jamaican fruit: why you never see fresh Akee in U.S. stores?

Akee (Blighia sapida)

⛔️ Banned Jamaican fruit: why you never see fresh Akee in U.S. stores?



Did you know that fresh Akee (Blighia sapida) is restricted for import into the U.S.?
That's the bad news.
The good news: you can grow your own Akee tree and enjoy this famous fruit right in your backyard!

The reason it's restricted is because unripe Akee (Ackee) contains toxins. Only when the pods split open naturally is the fruit safe to eat, after cooking (video). That’s why it's hard to import fresh – but easy to grow and handle at home once you know the trick.

Plenty of people love this fruit (it's actually a vegetable). It's the national fruit of Jamaica, and a must-have in the classic dish Akee and saltfish. Planting your own tree means you never have to miss out.

⛔️ Why grow Akee?



✔️Fresh fruit that you simply can’t buy in U.S. stores.
✔️You decide when it's ripe and safe, straight from the pod.
✔️A taste of Jamaica in your own garden - both food and culture in one tree.

So don't wait for the fruit that never arrives at the port. Plant your own Akee tree and enjoy the harvest tomorrow!

🛒 Plant your own Akee (Achee) tree


📚 Learn more:
📱 What is Akee - Jamaica's National Fruit - and how to grow it
New Christmas ornaments? Ackee monster fruit!
Akee deliciousness
What is number one tree-grown vegetable
Grow Your Own Food: Akee
📱 How to cook perfect Akee

#Food_Forest

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Date: 1 Aug 2023

Yuca root, Cassava, Manihot, Tapioca...
Food and Beauty

Manihot  esculenta,  Yuca  Root

Q: Can you recommend a pretty plant for my edible garden? Something that is not only useful but also very ornamental.

A: Introducing the fabulous and flamboyant star of the garden - Manihot esculenta, better known as the Yuca Root! This tropical root vegetable plant is the epitome of botanical fashion, showing off its cheerful and showy foliage like it's walking the runway of a tropical paradise...

The most stunning variety is Variegated Yuca root. You won't find this rare and remarkable variety of Yuca root just anywhere! It's like the unicorn of the edible plant world, combining practicality with pure visual delight. Not only can you feast on its starchy goodness, but you can also proudly display it as a stunning ornamental piece in your garden.

This tropical root vegetable knows how to put on a show, making its home as a shrub in subtropical zones across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and South America. Its roots and leaves are the real stars of the show, packed with all that starchy goodness. But hold on, there's a little twist to this drama! The root contains low levels of protein, while the green leaves are practically gym buffs with high protein levels.

Now, we must address the elephant in the botanical room - the mistaken identity crisis. Some folks confuse our lovely Yuca Root with Yucca, but let's clear things up: Yucca is a no-go in the culinary world. It's a non-edible plant from the Agave family, and you definitely don't want to cook that up for dinner!

So there you have it, folks! The Yuca Root, a true superstar of both the kitchen and the garden. Delicious, eye-catching, and ready to add a dash of tropical charm to your life. Get one for yourself, and let the good times yuca-roll!

Manihot  esculenta,  Yuca  Root,  tree