Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Why red flowers are so attractive?

Bauhinia galpinii (punctata) - Pride of De Kaap, Nasturtium Bauhinia

❓ Why red flowers are so attractive? ❤️

💋 If red is your favorite color for flowers, this is your plant!👇

❤️ Bauhinia galpinii (punctata) - Pride of De Kaap or Nasturtium Bauhinia - belongs to Orchid trees that we mentioned earlier. But this one has very unusual color of flowers for Bauhinias: bright red or scarlet!
❤️ Native to South Africa, this is a woody, vining shrub that also can be trained into a small tree, reaching 6-10 ft in height.
❤️ As a all orchid trees it has deep green, bilobed leaves are resembling butterfly wings.
❤️ Blooms almost year around, from Summer through late Fall, with vibrant orange-red, resembling those of nasturtiums, coming in clusters. Well-known for its stunning floral display.
❤️ Hardy, low-maintenance, drought-tolerant once established. Prefers full sun but can tolerate partial shade.
❤️ Attracts butterflies and bees

Tabernaemontana divaricata - Pinwheel Jasmine, Crape Jasmine

What is the best showy shrub to plant under a shade tree?

💮 Tabernaemontana divaricata, also known as Pinwheel Jasmine or Crape Jasmine, is a true garden gem, blooming year-round to bring constant beauty to your outdoor space.
💮 This cute bush can be also shaped into a small tree.
💮 It looks beautiful beneath palms or trees.
💮 Blooms year-round with pretty, white, pinwheel-shaped flowers.
💮 Needs bright light for profuse blooming, but can tolerate shade conditions.
💮 Makes your garden look stunning all year around.

Mucuna pruriens - Nescafe, Purple Jade Vine

☕️ What is Nescafe Coffee made from? Purple Jade.

💜 Earlier we mentioned Green Jade Vine and Yellow Jade Vine. This one is purple!

Mucuna pruriens - Nescafe, Purple Jade Vine has unusual royal purple flowers. The dark violet blooms appear closely pushed together in grape like clusters, up to 1 ft long and 6" in diameter.
The seeds known as mucuna beans or Nescafe and used as a coffee substitute.
It has been used for generations in India as a medicinal plant.
Very vigorous woody tree creeper - during warmer weather this vine can grow 2 feet a day!
Related to red Jade vine (Mucuna bennettii).

Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta

Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta purple

Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta Lavender Lace Variegated

Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta White

⚡️ Gardeners finally found a perfect everblooming hedge for shade!

💜 Kings Mantle - Thunbergia erecta - is a perfect flowering bush or hedge for the shady garden.
💜 Ever-blooming: Perfect for a continuously blooming hedge.
💜 Dense shrub: Bushy, fast-growing, and ideal for mixed beds or medium-to-low hedges.
💜 Beautiful flowers: flowers resemble morning glories, with common varieties having rich purple petals and yellow throats.
💜 Attractive foliage: Small, dark green leaves.
💜 Climber relatives: Unlike many Thunbergia species, this one is a sprawling shrub.
💜 Pruning responsive: Can be shaped into a dense hedge, pruning promotes flowering.
💜 Sun or shade: Prefers bright light and well-drained soil, but will also bloom in partial shade.
💜 Colors: comes in dark blue, white, and the unique, vigorous variegated variety - 'Lavender Ice'.