PeopleCats Botanical Garden Grand Opening
Guided tour with Mark Hooten

Top Tropicals Garden Center is pleased to invite you to visit our new PeopleCats Botanical Garden on the grounds of Top Tropicals in Ft Myers. It is named in honor of the relationship with our beloved Cats, who we treat like People. You'll see our Garden PeopleCats roaming the property. As a matter of fact, they rule the garden!
The Garden has many mature trees and plants so you can see what they look like before your purchase them in our Garden Center. And of course, our PeopleCats will be guiding you in the Gardens!

Photo above: blue light in the forest - TopTropicals Garden Ghost, the spirit is always watching!

Napoleana - Napoleon's Hat

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

by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats

...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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Avocado Black Prince

Grow Your Own Food
Avocado variety - what's the taste?

We obtained Black Prince Avocado variety this year and at first didn't know much about it. Until we tried the first fruit! The fruit was large, oval, green and slightly pebbly. We were not sure if it would taste like some green avocados - watery and less buttery? The fruit turned black couple days after it was picked, ripened and softened. We were pleasantly surprised, Black Prince deserves its title! The fruit pulp is thick, and has a rich, nutty flavor. The little trees grew this year vigorously and didn't show any bug or deficiency problems. Superior variety for a backyard grower! Giving it 5 stars! *****
We have Black Prince Avocado in 3 gal pots, as well as in XX-Large size for local pick up - for those who want a large fruiting size tree, please contact our Garden Center to pre-order from our Growing Farm (B-Farm). It can be delivered and installed for you!

Why grow your own Avocado tree?

Why grow your own Avocado tree? This is why. Now we import 89% of the U.S. avocado from Mexico. How much of a difference we could make if we were all growing our own avocados? Support our own horticulture, help Avocado to become grown in the USA!

Plant Horoscope - Virgo
Lucky Zodiac Plants: 08/23-09/22

By Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats

...Virgo is the most disciplined sign of the zodiac, the most responsible...
...She likes flowers. But she will grow them only if:
a) the task is set: to decorate the house or courtyard;
b) there is a place in her personal organizer to write: "watering, pruning, feeding, etc. - what else according to the instructions?”. And real time to do it. In all other cases, Virgo behave toward plants according to the residual principle, optimistically reasoning: "They want to live - they will survive..."
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What is the largest succulent flower in the world?
Starfish Flower - Stapelia gigantea

This is one of the most bizarre looking succulents you've even seen! Starfish Flower from Tanzania is one of the largest flowers in the plant world!
It does look like a startfish, and is absolutely beautiful! Being a succulent, the plant is very undemanding and easy to grow, doesn't need much care or water. It also doesn't mind regular irrigation, we have it in Summer Florida rains with no problem. The focal point of this plant is the fleshy, 5-pointed, star-shaped flowers (to 10-16" across), each being pale ochre-yellow with thin transverse maroon lines. It is a great container plant and very fast growing, can fill a large hanging basket within just one season. Flowers on and off during the warm season with the most profuse flowering at the end of Summer (flower buds are triggered by shortened daylight hours in fall). It is a spine-free succulent member of the milkweed (not cactus!).