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 the author/photographer of Tropicalismo! Spice Up Your Garden with Cannas, Bananas, and 93 Other Eye-Catching Tropical Plants (Timber Press, fall 2008). A freelance writer, she is a contributing editor for Horticulture magazine and has also written for Fine Gardening, The American Gardener, and the Better Homes and Gardens magazine group. Her lectures on plants have taken her to fabulous places, including Brookgreen Gardens, Callaway Gardens, the Phipps Conservatory, and the JC Raulston Arboretum. Pam is the former owner of Singing Springs Nursery, a nationally-known mail-order nursery that specialized in hardy and tender tropical plants. She is a recipient of the Quill and Trowel Award from the Garden Writers Association.
In addition to her passion for plants, Pam loves teaching and has taught writing through Longwood Gardens, the JC Raulston Arboretum, and Duke University's Continuing Education Program. Other passions include: time with family and friends (including walks with her fifteen-year-old border collie, Tasha); getting bashed by waves at the beach where she grew up; photography; extreme chocolate; hanging out with her nieces and nephew; exploring cities (particularly art museums!); and enjoying the quiet of her rural home.
