Gardening :: A Taste of the Tropics

Summer is upon us, with its sunny skies, balmy breezes, and warm, lazy days. For most of the country's gardeners, the period from June through September is that brief window of time when Mother Nature casts her tropical spell across the land. With landscapes lit up with showy blossoms or shaded by oversized leaves, the air scented with the fragrance of jasmine and oleander, one is transported to an exotic, dreamy locale.

If you've always wanted to create a sultry oasis of your own- either seasonally in your garden or year round indoors- there are several fantastic resources to help you design your own sultry, tropical retreat.

Let’s get tropical...

For most of us, tropical plants are, by necessity, either used as annual accents in our landscapes, or grown in pots and brought indoors for the winter. Since 1892, Logee's Greenhouses have been providing green thumbers beautiful, healthy tropical plants for use in gardens both indoor and out. A family business, the Connecticut based nursery specializes in wonderful specimens that flourish when grown in containers. Their selection of tropical beauties is impressive, including much loved begonias, charming oddities like carnivorous pitcher plants, and edible lovelies like the 'Persian Lime' and 'Strawberry Guava'(I got the munchies just looking at the fabulous photos on their web site!)

Elephant Ears

Logee's is run by Byron and Laurelynn Martin, co-authors of the invaluable book 'Spectacular Container Plants'; they have some great insights into the elements that make for an unforgettable tropical garden. Their list of plants for adding an instant tropical effect include Bananas, of which Logee's sells many varieties, as well as "any of the elephant ear plants, like Colocasia 'Black Magic' Alocasias, and Xanthosoma 'Lime Zinger'". With their colorful, extravagant flowers, Hibiscus are truly emblematic of the tropics, and Logee's carries several types: 'Kona', a fluffy double pink, the dazzling 'Peppermint Star' and the ever changing, multi hued 'Rumrunner'. "The hibiscus don't grow super fast' advise the Martins, "but sure are outrageous in their bloom size and coloring"

Scents of summer

Fragrant plants bring another sense into the experience of tropical gardening; delicious scents create long lasting memories of sultry summer evenings. 'Angel's Trumpets' (Brugmansia spp), and 'Night Blooming Jasmine' (Cestrum Nocturnum) are among the perfumed exotics that the Martins recommend. Logee's also offers a wealth of Passionflowers, which add not only intoxicating fragrance, but are vigorous vining plants as well. Stand out selections include the deep purple flowered 'Inspiration' and cranberry hued 'Ruby Glow'. With their lush, exuberant growth, vines are an essential element for creating a tropical effect, indoors or out.

Hearty Perennials

If you enjoy the lush tropical style, but have a preference for cold hardy perennials and woody plants, Klehm's Song Sparrow Farm and Nursery in Wisconsin can't be beat. Their catalog boasts an amazing array of plants that both say 'welcome to the tropics', yet can withstand the coldest winter weather. Klehm's is world renowned for their selection of peonies, both herbaceous and Tree Peony type. With their opulent, extravagant blooms, peonies echo many of the spectacular blossoms of the balmiest destinations. Tree Peony 'Dare Devil' features huge red blooms reminiscent of Hibiscus, while Tree Peony 'Savage Splendor' is adorned with ruffled flowers of ivory, rose and lavender. 'Angel Cheeks' peony sports a large and fluffy 'bomb' type blossom, in soft cameo pink, and is mildly fragrant. 'White Lullaby' is a gorgeous, cream colored double peony. Not only do these botanical treasures provide a dynamic visual flair to the landscape, they are also one of the most forgiving, long lasting plants one can grow.

Bamboo :: the new black

Klehm's also offers a variety of hardy bamboo plants, adding an undeniably exotic touch to the garden. There's Fargesia Rufa 'Green Panda' a clumping, non invasive beauty with elegant, reddish brown culms (stems); Pleioblastus Fortunei is a fabulous groundcover bamboo, lighting up the landscape with variegated leaves of green and white stripes- excellent in containers.

Big Daddy!

Shade gardeners aren't left out of the party; Hostas, with their large bold leaves, echo the lush green growth of the jungle floor. 'Guacamole' is a must see specimen with gold centered, green margined leaves, as well as fragrant lavender flowers; 'Big Daddy' (I like it just for the name!) is a showstopper with heavy, puckered blue green leaves, and white flowers in June. To add the magic of vining plants to your ersatz tropical paradise, Clematis are a must have climbing plant. Klehm's has so many beautiful selections of these floral favorites, it's hard to narrow it down, but among my favorites are the pinwheel-esque 'Fireworks', vivid, lush 'Multi Blue' and the delicate, slightly fragrant white blossoms of 'Veronica's Choice'.

’Tropical Treasures’

Experience is the best teacher, and having a knowledgeable source to turn to for reliable information about tropical plants and gardening is finally available in magazine form. The recently launched 'Tropical Treasures' publication is the latest project from Michael Dubinovsky and Tatiana Anderson, the creators of the Top Tropicals website and rare plant nursery. The pair, both natives of Russia, now live and work in sunny, sub-tropical South Florida, where they opened the 'Tropical Boonies' a 20-acre botanical garden and nursery.

Their experience with rare tropical species has led them to offer many exotic plants on their website, such as the gorgeous 'Porcelain Flower' (Clusia orthoneura), and the bizarre 'Sausage tree' (Kigelia pinnata). Tropical Treasures quarterly magazine presents information about these and many other tropical plants in an easy to read format. Its tone is straightforward and friendly, akin to getting gardening advice over the backyard fence.

For more help...

The premiere issue featured fascinating feature stories including 'Growing Tropicals in a Non Tropical Climate' and 'Pioneers Hot-House in a Freezer' detailing the exploits of a teenage couple who started their own tropical nursery in a bitterly cold Russian town called Zelenodolsk. If they can pull that off, I have no excuse for accidentally killing my Philodendron! One interesting story focused on the Yling-Ylang plant (Cananga odorata), a deliciously scented plant whose essence is used as an ingredient in Chanel No.5 perfume. Smell her!
Anderson notes that there are "different styles of tropical gardens: Hawaiian, Thai,
Caribbean, and so on. You may want to create a desert tropical garden, for example grow
Pachypodiums, Adeniums, Baobabs and other plants from Madagascar, (and) African savannas" Whether you want gorgeous ginger plants on the patio, cold hardy bloomers that return every spring, or succulent species that echo the deserts of the Southwest, it's never been easier or more exciting to bring home a taste of the tropics.

Recommended Reading

For more information, EDGE recommends the following books:

'Spectacular Container Plants' by Byron E. Martin and Laurelynn G. Martin

Hot Plants for Cool Climates: Gardening With Tropical Plants in Temperate Zones, by Dennis Schrader

The American Gardening Guides: Tropical Gardening, by David Bar-Zvi

The Tropical Look: An Encyclopedia of Dramatic Landscape Plants by Robert L. Riffle

Palms Won't Grow Here and Other Myths: Warm-Climate Plants for Cooler Areas by David A. Francko