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Whether you have a small space, or acres of land, Cathy Isom has tips for creating a tropical paradise in your backyard. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Tropical Gardens are an idealistic, soothing piece of paradise. This can be achieved with clever and adventurous planting. When planning a tropical garden, the goal is to create layers of foliage and flowers. This means using tall trees all the way down to the smallest groundcover plants.
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Strong architectural plants, such as palms, cycads, yuccas, phormiums and bamboo, all need to earn their space in your garden plan. These need to be intermingled with huge tropical blooms and feathery grasses. Choose a diverse range of colors, textures, shapes, and forms.
Even if you have a small yard, you can give the illusion of greater space by allowing your planting to take you on a journey around the garden. Do this by changing levels in the garden and planning pathways that weave around your main structural plants. One of the most important principles of design is to create a flow that invites you to explore the garden, all while keeping the mystery of what is to come.
I’m Cathy Isom…