Tropicalismo!: Spice Up Your Garden with Cannas, Bananas, and 93 Other Eye-Catching Tropical Plants

Does your garden lack zing? Are your borders a bore? Spice them up with a touch of the tropics! Tropical plants bring sizzle to every garden. Bananas in Maine, cannas in Canada--these plants can be grown everywhere. Whether used in containers or planted directly in the ground, their bold leaves and over-the-top flowers create instant drama. Pam Baggett chooses 100 of the best tropical plants and shows readers how to grow them, how to combine them with other plants, and how to make eye-popping compositions of color and pattern. Love flaming orange? Try cannas, lantanas, and 'Fire Dragon' coleus. Screaming magenta more your taste? Go for hot-pink four o'clocks, bloodleaf, and 'Cranberry Punch' pentas. If you're passionate about purple, grab princess flower, Brazilian skyflower, and 'Purple Majesty' sage. Tropicalismo! offers hundreds of ideas for turning gardens, decks, and patios into a visual fiesta. A taste of the tropics is all it takes to turn your garden into a paradise.

Pam Baggett is a freelance writer and photographer who previously owned Singing Springs Nursery, in Cedar Grove, NC. Her articles have appeared in publications including Fine Gardening, Horticulture, and The American Gardener, and she has won the Quill and Trowel Award from the Garden Writers Association.