Say Yes to Tropical Plants in Your Garden

By George Graine, Fairfax Master Gardener
“The good gardener is the one who makes experiments.” — Vita Sackville-West (1950)

In the book “Fearless Gardening” by Loree Bohl she wrote, “To every gardener who ever thought, but I can’t or I shouldn’t, you can and yes you should.” This type of guarded optimism could just as well apply to a new book by Marianne Willburn titled, “Tropical Plants and How to Love Them: Building a Relationship with Heat-Loving Plants When You Don’t Live in the Tropics” (Cool Springs Press, 2021). Note that the author is not a resident of Hawaii, Florida or Southern California. In fact she resides and gardens with tropical plants in a rural area of Northern Virginia. Here she has an “… ever-evolving mixture of tropical, temperate, and native plants.” Please do not let the title of this book be a turn-off because there are so many plants that you can enjoy in our Mid-Atlantic hardiness zone. Consider this book as a challenge to gardeners who previously assumed tropical plants demanded a tropical environment or be relegated to remain as houseplants.

Gardening with most tropicals will not break the bank. Consider this quote from the author. “I have spent most of my gardening life trying to figure out how to make more from less, much from something, and anything from nothing.” That is why she got into the wonderful world of tropical plants. Her writing is like talking to a friend over the backyard fence and without any long-winded technical horticultural jargon. You will learn important concepts so that the points being made are easily understood. Furthermore, the explanatory writing makes a lot of sense, and the beautiful color photos in real garden settings are superb.

Perhaps now you are asking a question — why tropicals? The answer is relatively simple and straightforward. It is because tropical plants make an impact, that is, a statement in the garden. These type plants also tend to complement nearby plants without dominating them. Think in terms of contrast, form and excitement, as well as color and texture. Note, too, that tropicals can be beautiful even with minimal flowering because the foliage is often the primo architectural form. If you are familiar with hostas and brunnera, then this point is probably obvious.

The book is divided into three sections. These will help you to comprehend a relationship with tropicals that you have fallen in love with during the summer. Then what? Maybe it is time to bring these tropicals indoors for a while and have them as houseplants. Like many other plants in your landscape, you should consider making a long-term commitment with tropicals even if moving some (not all) is a hassle. Every plant has unique characteristics in terms of its attributes both good and not so good. For example, a pleasing architectural form (noted above) may be ideal but if this plant spreads aggressively like a thug or is a magnet for pests and disease, then this is obviously a poor choice.

The chapter on “best friends” is essentially about storage methods because some tropicals need a respite from cold weather. You will learn how a one-and-done season can be extended when easy-to-follow methods are employed, so that you will be able to have your favorite plants again for the next growing season. If you are up for a challenge, here is another aspect about tropicals. This pertains to problems associated with some plants that are considered to be high maintenance. These plants are in a unique category, that is, alluring, irresistible and that word again, challenging. What that really means is some tropicals require a long time to mature, need strong light, require high humidity, a specific water temperature and even more maintenance than many other plants. Try tropicals if you tend to be a risk taker. What do you have to lose other than the cost of the plant and maybe a little of your own pride.

After several chapters on how to enjoy and maintain plants, another dimension is included that may surprise you. Here is where you will find how tropical plants that you enjoy for their ornamental value can provide edibles, and some have medicinal properties. You will read how tropicals can be used for flavoring, sautéed as healthy greens, make teas and even wrap fish for steaming. Of course, not all tropical plants are edible, just like not all mushrooms are edible. The book explains safe practices for your kitchen culinary delights. This is an absolutely critical chapter if you do decide to cook with tropicals.

In the second half of the book you will read about landscape design when using tropical plants. Many of these plants, as noted earlier, can or will make a statement in your garden depending on your own choice and location. In this chapter you will find an alphabetical plant “profile” with color photos in landscape settings. These will help you to understand how 39 plants can be used in your garden. To be sure, most likely many of these plants will be familiar to you as houseplants. Some could be like a pick-me-up-and-buy-me choice. Perhaps these new-to-you plants should be given serious consideration when the opportunity arises.

After reading this article, I hope you are convinced that there is a place for tropical plants in your garden. Just looking at the marvelous color photos (in real garden situations) will be sure to convince you that tropicals in the garden really do make a lot of sense.