How to Use Tropical Plants in Landscaping

You can bring the tropics home by landscaping with tropical plants. Use broadleaf plants like palm trees, bamboo, bananas trees and ferns to give your landscape a tropical feel. Add colorful and fragrant flowers like plumeria, bougainvillea, hibiscus, bird of paradise and butterfly ginger. Also add hanging vines like the prince kahio and pakalana. Complete your tropical landscape with stone water fountains and winding paths made with layers of mulch or smooth stones.

Colored pencils
Paper
Shovel
Broadleaf tropical plants
Tropical flowers
Hanging vines
Trellises
Mulch or smooth pebbles

Instructions

- 1
  
  Draw a diagram of your garden.
  
  Research the Internet for tropical plants that can thrive in your area. Also talk to your local garden expert. Choose the density, height and colors of plants for your landscape. Draw a picture of what you want your tropical landscape to look like, using colored pencils and paper. Add trees, flowers, plants and pathways to your diagram, along with a fountain or two.
- 2
  
  Broadleaf plants give a tropical feel to the landscape .
  
  Remove any plants you do not want in your tropical landscape area by digging them up with your shovel. Dig holes and plant the broadleaf plants according to your diagram. Plant each palm tree, bamboo, banana tree and fern according to the plant tags.
- 3
  
  Choose colorful flowers and vines for your tropical landscape.
  
  Plant your colorful flowers and vines according to their plant tags, using a shovel to dig the holes. Place the trellises next to any climbing flowers and hanging vines (like the bougainvillea, the prince kahio vine and the pakalana vine). Attach the plants by weaving them into the trellises if they are tall enough.
- 4
  
  Use stone fountains in your tropical landscape.
  
  Add a pre-assembled stone fountain or two to the landscape (or assemble using manual directions). Connect each fountain to a water source using the manufacturers' directions. Plant tropical ferns or flowers around the bottoms of each fountain using your shovel.
- 5
  
  Use mulch or stone to make pathways.
  
  Put down layers of mulch or smooth pebbles to make pathways to some of your favorite landscaping features, such as blooming flowers or fountains.

Outside Silk Plants & Trees

Xeriscape Plant Guide

Landscaping Plants