Tropical plants aren’t just for tropical gardens. Temperate gardens may also benefit from their bold beauty, especially where summers are hot and humid (like mine). Every year I include a few hot tropical plants in my arrangements and gather ideas from other gardens and landscapes. Take the inspired container arrangement below comprised of Begonia ‘Escargot’, variegated spider plant and purple oxalis. These tender tropicals fare beautifully in our warm, Mid-Atlantic summers and falls.

Croton is another southern gem that thrives when in the warm summer season. It’s multi-colored, waxy leaves stand out on their own but also combine well with standard summer bedding annuals, like petunia, ageratum and ornamental sweet potato as in the container arrangement pictured below. Just about every big box home and garden center sells croton in their houseplant section, and there are tons of fantastic cultivars to choose from.

One of the more fierce looking tropicals for containers and large beds is naranjilla (Solanum quitoense), which is pictured below. Large purple spines line its enormous leaves and herbaceous stems and edible, round orange fruits are produced towards the end of the season. Despite its harsh looks, this Central American native has become a fairly common and very interesting container and landscape plant. It’s not something I have tried to grow (my toddler probably would not appreciate it), but I admire it when I see it. More daring gardeners with no children or clumsy pets should give it a try.

Really, any rare and wonderful tropical can be container grown outdoors if brought inside when growing conditions become unfavorable. Overwintering is easy, but methods depend on the plant species grown. Most gardeners opt to bring container-grown tropicals indoors. It’s always wise to give the soil line and plants a surface cleaning and light spray with a pyrethrin-based insecticide to ensure unwanted critters are not also brought indoors. Species more tolerant of cooler growing conditions can be stored in a cool, dry place and minimally watered until spring conditions warm up enough to bring them out.

"Check out Learn2Grow's article, "Tropical Beauties for Home and Garden" to get more ideas with tropical flair.

Dwarf ornamental bananas can make spectacular tropical specimens for temperate gardens. They're so fast growing, they'll be giants by season's end.

This the beautiful tropical ginger, Globba, grows well outdoors in more northern summers and can be brought inside to overwinter.

The international theme of this year’s Philly Flower Show yielded some very exciting and inspired exhibits. The most memorable displays spanned the globe and defied the flower show exhibit norm of "a little flowered and shrubbed landscape surrounding a cunning little house with patio."  In fact, several were among the most interesting and compelling I'd ever seen.

The truly unique, multifaceted exhibit presented by the Philadelphia Flower Designers at MODA Botanica caught my eye first. They used industrial steel storage containers to house wild, modern floral fantasy rooms. All floral rooms in the display had a industrial or urban feel while also being wildly fantastical.

Luminous and surreal vases of green dyed sweet peas, grasses and fern fronds hung from the ceiling of the first MODA Botanica steel container display.

One of the glassed in Moda displays was white, bright, utilitarian and fluorescent.

Bold graffiti and an intricate web of colored bamboo stems were brought to life by vines of vibrant gloriosa lilies.

A workman's lamp is softened by an unlikely mix of moss, orchids, sweet peas, muscari and ranunculus.

Another memorable display was that presented by showcase exhibitor, the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD). "Exploring South Africa" was the title of their large, varied display that featured everything from seeded and flowered South African masks to tribal figures, shields and animals made of cast bases decorated with natural materials. Much of the plant material was South African in origin.

Flowers, feathers, seeds, raffia and plastic pull ties decorated the South African tribe's people in the AIFD display.




The walkway lined with seeded and flowered African masks was so packed with interested visitors it was hard to enjoy the workmanship.

A lion with a grassy mane and orchid dusted back was one of several African animals AIFD  created.

A giraffe decorated with small, orb-like vases filled with tangerine orchids also stood tall above the show.

India was another country beautifully presented through floral interpretation. Jamie Rothstein Distinctive Floral Designs Inc. provided a colorful Indian landscape in, Flowers! The Jewels of an Indian Wedding. Like the South African display, it was colorful, creative and featured flowery animals as well as gardens and landscapes. Rosettes of floral beds dotted the ground like jewelry and a long pool led the way to the matrimonial cottage.


The brightly colored round beds that dotted the Jamie Rothstein display were vibrant.

A flowered peacock added charm to "Flowers! The Jewels of an Indian Wedding."

A happy elephant (I swear it was smiling) with Spanish moss skin, Craspedia tusk decorations and a love-lies-bleeding head dress was the star of the India display.

The main display of "Passport to the World” was quite a showpiece as well. Its red Chinese house was my favorite. The colorful travel balloon at the entrance was also impressive. Live, trained parrots flew among the gardens adding an extra element of exoticism.

The main PHS display is always beautifully done and this year was no exception.

Jane Pepper, much loved president of the PHS since 1981, will be retiring from her post this year. A lovely Scottish garden display was created in her honor. It was a fitting farewell for a woman whose leadership and vision took the society to new heights.

The Scottish Garden dedicated to Jane Pepper had elements of naturalism and fun (note the Yellow Submarine mailbox).

I’ve had three first hand experiences with the World Trade Center Site. I first visited it on the six month anniversary of the attacks. Clean up was still underway but that evening the city shone 88 search lights upwards to form two columns where the buildings had been. The inspirational installation was called Tribute in Light (bit.ly/nvfG0) and remained lit from March 11 to April 14, 2002 (it is still lit on 9/11 anniversaries). Three years later, while an intern for The American Gardener magazine, I had the idea of writing about the plans for the 9/11 memorial garden. I was disappointed and surprised that the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation was unwilling to discuss plans for the site at that time. Finally, last weekend (2/20/10) my husband and I visited again to see what progress had been made. After ten years, it is still a big, empty, gaping hole (all 16 acres of it). What an unseemly tribute to the fallen.

The base of a new skyscraper on the World Trade Center site is all there is to see after 10 years of work. Great wars have been fought and won in that time guys. Get the lead out!

Our confusion and disappointed was fortuitously cleared up when we returned home that Sunday evening and flipped on 60 minutes. Bureaucratic power struggles, lack of vision, lack of follow through and limited money have led to this national disgrace. The original vision of Reflecting Absence, the design of the National September 11 Memorial Competition winners Michael Arad and Peter Walker, has been whittled away by all parties involved, from real estate mogul, Larry Silverstein, to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a cascade of incapable politicians and other city entities. What was once a grand, inspired design is now run-of-the-mill and less than. Billions have been spent and the city has almost nothing to show for it.

Most would agree that this is a national disgrace. It must be especially heart-wrenching for those who lost loved ones in the attacks. Ground Zero should not remain Ground Zero in perpetuity. Several are trying to create a voice to inspire all decision makers involved to get cracking. The Families of September 11 remain committed to seeing this project to fruition (bit.ly/90Oe4e), The Twin Towers Alliance was created to forward the memorial effort (www.twintowersalliance.com/), and separate online petitions abound (bit.ly/dhE1po, bit.ly/c6Uont, bit.ly/a3LxLv).  Other interest groups, like Save the Survivors Stairway (www.savethestairway.org/) and Save the Facades (bit.ly/9tcGW4), hope to save remain pieces of the towers for future generations.

If you feel as committed to seeing the National September 11 Memorial completed in a timely fashion appropriate to magnitude of the tragedy and need for national healing then please get involved and petition!

There is little to see at the 9/11 site save the National 9/11 Museum (bit.ly/3JXY7Z), which was small but very well done.

Mid-Atlantic dwellers were bombarded with snow last weekend, and they say more is to come this Wednesday. These are the days when spring feels the furthest away. Yes, the snow is beautiful, but underneath there are lots of early bulbs just peaking their heads out. At least the snow is protecting them. One saving grace for folks in this area is that the Philly Flower approacheth...

High winds and continuous snowfall made it hard to play on Saturday.

My daughter took a tumble and was almost completely submerged in snow!

How many toddlers can clean a driveway this well?

Driving was a scary thing next day.

There's no season like spring...There's no season like spring... There's no season like spring....

More and more food gardeners are using their veggie growing skills to feed the hungry. Programs like the hugely successful Garden Writer’s Plant a Row for the Hungry (www.gardenwriters.org/gwa.php?p=par/inde...) make it possible. But this isn't the only option. A quick online search came up with lots more local philanthropic gardening groups scattered nationwide, like Giving Gardeners (givinggardeners.blogspot.com/), the Giving Garden (givinggarden.blogspot.com/ and thegivinggarden.org/), and local Food Bank community gardens (www.acfb.org/projects/community_garden/).

Gardeners on tight bugets may also seek help in getting garden fresh produce on the dinner table.  The Dinner Garden (www.dinnergarden.blogspot.com/) will suppliy seeds, supplies and advice to gardeners seeking to provide themselves, and those in their communities, with fresh-grown produce. It's a novel program started by Holly Hirshberg of San Antonio, Texas.

The point is, when rallied together towards a common cause, small time gardeners can make a big difference in putting food on the table of the hungry. Consider becoming a pioneer in philanthropic gardening in your community. Plant a Row is always looking for local coordinators and volunteers, and The Dinner Garden is willing to share their gardening goods to those in need. And who knows, there may already be a budding program in your community eager for diligent volunteer gardeners.