Designing a Tropical Garden

Some of my friends back on the west coast keep teasing me about the "lush, tropical garden" I must have. "Do you have a toucan or parrot yet?" they ask, as if a Florida zip code means you immediately have banana trees and frangipani (Plumeria) growing in your driveway! I wish it were that easy.

Truth be told, it takes a bit of time to create the tropical paradise you see in the postcards. Sure, if you're a certain large entertainment concern in central Florida (think big mouse ears), you have a whole horticultural and landscaping team whose sole purpose is to maintain the tropical look and feel of your gardens. What about mere mortals like us? How can we cultivate a little bit of tropical paradise in our gardens?

How Tropical Do You Want to Be?

Think about how intense you want the tropical feel in your garden. Do you want a few exotic and colorful plants draping your arbor or back door, or feel you need a pith helmet when you get the mail? We're lucky here in Florida because we can have it either way.

The northern part of the state has the more temperate climate that enjoys warm days and mild nights. The humidity stays pretty tolerable and while a freeze or two may occur, it usually don't last for very long. The central part of Florida is the "middle child", getting the warmth and humidity of the south with the occasional cold snap from the north. Southern Florida is an entity unto itself, an idyllic tropical locale (most of the time). With these broad generalizations in hand and a good understanding of your particular microclimate, designing a tropical oasis becomes a bit easier. You can now learn about and choose the appropriate plants for your area, just like "regular" gardening.

Have Fun with Your Plants

There's a certain "wildness" that makes a garden tropical. The plants have bright, almost fluorescent colors. Their shapes are like something out of a Dr. Seuss dream. Sometimes their fragrances can lift you off your feet (or knock you over). Face it, a tropical garden can be lush and intimidating. If you have the space and want to try something bold, go for it! Some of the plants that would work well in this kind of setting would be Elephant's Ear (Alocasia spp.), orchids and other epiphytes, ferns and Amazon Lily. ZoneTen.com has a great list of some really exotic tropical plants. For something a bit more understated, consider members of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), hibiscus and large leaf philodendrons.

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