Crotons - What You Need to Know

Crotons are colorful and showy in the landscape.  They can be grown in containers as in the photo from my garden, or grown as a shrub (great for hedges).  There are various varieties that can all bring a tropical, colorful look in the garden. If you are interested in growing these beauties...

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How to Grow Flowering Mandevilla Vine

Love the showy flowering mandevilla vine grown on a trellis.  We had a beautiful mandevilla with pink flowers that died in one of our harsh winters.  It was one of my favorite plants! If you would love to grow a mandevilla, click here for an excellent plant profile. ...

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Sago Palm Outdoor Care

The photo is from my paradise before a few harsh winters wiped out the landscape.  My beloved sago palm is at the bottom left of the photo.  It was killed by an infestation that hit Florida hard.  Love sago palms! Click here for a excellent article on the sago palm that grows in...

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Beginners Guide to Succulents

Succulents seem to be all the rage . . . I'm seeing them everywhere!  I've always loved hens and chicks, but I have not had luck growing them. They are perfect plants for container gardening and so cute. Click here for a beginners guide to growing these little beauties.  I'll be...

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Blue Plumbago: How to grow

Before an unusually brutal winter wiped out most of my paradise, my blue plumbago stood out like a shining gem.  It was started from a cutting from my mother-in-law's garden, like most of my other plants.  The cutting grew into a beautiful bush that always had butterflies hovering around...

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Aucuba . . . the plant with the look of the tropics

It is one of those plants that thrived in my father's garden, a successful result of his passion for propagating plants collected in his travels. The shrub in the photo from my garden is a result of several years growth from the cuttings I took from his yard. The aucuba plant is one of my favorites. Our...

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Kalanchoe blossfeldiana

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is a durableflowering succulent that requires littlemaintenance and can be grown eitherindoors or outdoors.Their fleshy, dark shiny green leaves will reach 3 inches (7.7 cm) long by up to 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) wide with lobed edges.Floral colors range from the traditional red to...

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