Exotic Plants for Temperate Zones

By J. A. Young

Luckily, with a bit of know how, you do not have to live in the tropics to garden with tropical and heat-loving exotic plants. Today's gardens are more versatile than ever before and adding tropicals and subtropicals will allow you to mirror paradise in your own backyard. By taking care with garden design, maintenance and plant selection, you can achieve an exotic garden in your cool climate.

Tropicals can be grown for a single season like annuals or taken indoors to wait out the winter.  The great thing about adding many varieties of exotic plants is that biologically they have no conception of a growing season - in the tropics they simply bloom and grow throughout the year.  Adding them to your cool climate garden will actually provide you with blooms throughout the growing season.  

When considering tropical plants, one usually thinks of lush foliage with broad leaves as well as large bright blooms in odd shapes. To many, tropical plants signal a jungle and rain forest look. This is certainly true and such a look can be obtained for temperate gardens, but you can also add a few tropical splashes here and there in your garden that is more suggestive of the tropics than actually a replication of them. Consider your space and how you use your garden before choosing specific tropicals to incorporate.  

Be sure to consider maintenance and how much time you can devote to plantings that require more care than others. In order to control plants that may be more invasive - water-loving plants in particular, consider using containers for your plantings. Also, if you have flower beds, be sure to add adequate borders for them - either pavement or rock borders or mulch. Taking care to install them with maintenance in mind will ensure that you have the right plants for your lifestyle.

When creating a tropical garden, an ideal grouping will include trees, shrubs, foliage plants and flowers. Where to place your plantings will depend on your landscape, but having an attractive variety will provide great visual interest for your garden. The following exotic plants are great choices to grow in temperate climates:

Yellow Musk Mallow (tender perennial with bright bloom), Chinese Lantern (weeping shrub), Chenille Plant (shrub with oddly shaped caterpillar-like flowers), Abyssian Gladiolus (tender bulb), Lily-of-the-Nile (perennial), Golden Trumpet (tropical vine), Aloe (succulent), Bloodleaf (perennial), African Daisy (perennial), Pelican Flower (vine), Bougainvillea (shrub), Fancy-leaved Caladium (perennial), Jessamine (spreading shrub), Kaffir Lily (perennial), Elephant’s Ear (perennial), Cabbage Palm (tropical tree), Thorn Apple (shrub), Papyrus (ornamental grass), Amazon Lily (perennial), Mexican Gold Bush (shrub), Fuchsia (tender perennial or shrub), Cape Jasmine (shrub), Tropical Hibiscus (tree or shrub), Parrot Flower (perennial), Shrimp Plant (pink-blooming shrub), Mandevilla (vine or shrub), Passionflower (vine), Spanish Thyme (ground cover), etc.

Of course, there are many other tropicals and subtropicals to consider that do quite well in cool climates, but these are simply several attractive varieties to select. Take care to determine each plant’s requirements so it can thrive in your setting.

Aside from plantings, garden ornaments, props and other features will help your garden achieve its tropical style. Adding a water element to your garden will certainly enhance your lush tropical plantings. Birdbaths, small basins or easy-to-install wall fountains are simple features to incorporate, but consider a garden pond for your water-loving tropicals reminiscent of the Amazon basin or a Nile pleasure garden. Also, primitive fountains will add plenty of tropical appeal as will a rock-studded waterfall or cascade set in a sloped area of your landscape.

Since the tropical plant world teems with vines and trailing plants, consider installing a garden structure to act as a support for your climbing plants. Bringing your exotics up to eye level is an appealing way to showcase them and even add shade to your patio area. An arbor or even more elegant pergola will go a long way to transforming your garden into an outdoor tropical room reminiscent of Mexican courtyard gardens or Spanish patios. Even a simple section of wrought iron fencing will be all the support needed for vines to thrive.

Other tropical style props to consider are lighting features like torches or lanterns, pottery containers in various sizes and shapes, baskets, ornamental rocks, garden furniture, etc. Shopping online or at your local garden center will yield many tropical styles for your garden. 

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