Hot Plants for Cool Climates: Gardening with Tropical ...

DIVThe most exciting new trend in garden design is the lush look of the tropics -- no matter where you live! If, like so many gardeners, you're a little bored with pastel flowers and rigid borders, welcome to the jungly garden, where the plants have huge shiny leaves, boldly colored foliage, ferny textures, and flame-colored flowers. Now that garden centers and nurseries are stocking banana plants, elephant ears, giant ferns, and Amazon lilies, you can have your own tropical garden no matter where you live. Whether you want to go the whole way and turn your suburban yard into a jungle paradise or simply want to grow a few tropical plants in containers, you'll add pizzazz to your garden and your gardening experience by indulging in these exciting new plants. How do you grow tropical plants in a cold climate? The way you grow annuals or other tender perennials -- you plant new ones each season or winter them over indoors. And you can even include hardy plants with a tropical look to augment the true denizens of the junble. If you've ever bemoaned the sorry appearance of an August garden, tropicals are the perfet answer -- their leaves stay fresh and they bloom undaunted by summer's worst heat. In HOT PLANTS FOR COOL CLIMATES, you will find both inspirational photographs and solid information on how to design a flamboyant tropical landscape and grow the plants that make it happen no matter where you live./DIVDIVContents Introduction vi Hot Plants for Cool Climates One Tropicals Catch Fire 3 Two Tropical Style for Temperate Climates 21 Three Sizzling Container Gardens 53 Four Hardy Plants for a Tropical Look 69 Five Winter Survival Techniques 89 Encyclopedia of Plants 103 Appendix One Plant Lists 199 Appendix Two Sources for Tropical and Tropical-Looking Hardy Plants 211 Acknowledgments 216 Index 218/DIV