Richard Iversen. The Exotic Garden. Taunton Press. 1999.

Tthis book gently encourages even northern gardeners to consider using rather flamboyant plants in our outdoor growing spaces during the summers. If this idea fascinates you or expands your gardening horizons, this book is definitely written with you in mind.

The book consists of six chapters. The first chapter introduces some tropical plant ideas that make me wish I either had a larger garden accompanied by a greenhouse for over wintering, or that I could move to southern Florida where the brightly colored or just plain exotic looking plants could grow outside year-round. Designing with Tropical Plants, Chapter 2, explains the difference between a well-designed or poorly designed tropical garden. Three main design concepts are discussed: color, form, and texture. Reading through this chapter gives you a brief course in landscape design principles.

Tropical Borders are discussed in Chapter 3. The author discusses everything from enclosing borders with shrubs or using tropical plants as a temporary border. He shows how to create garden rooms and how to install garden paths. The importance carefully preparing the soil is emphasized. Using tropical plants as bedding plants is covered in Chapter 4. Iversen shows different bedding shapes that may be used. He introduces the idea of using a “lawn bed” rather than a plant border located just adjacent to your house foundation or sidewalks and driveways. Chapter 5 discusses growing tropical plants in containers. Almost any gardener can use this idea since the container can be located in beds, borders, and on porches or patios.

The final chapter in this lovely book discusses general principles of growing plants. The reader is shown everything involved in planting your garden or container. The importance of maintenance and the tasks required is covered in some detail. The author was also careful to address the problems of over wintering tropical plants in cooler climates.

This book concludes with A Tropical Plant Glossary, which I would prefer to call an encyclopedia. The plants arranged in families. The basic information is included in each description: Plant origin, decorative interest, culture, height, propagation, horticultural uses, and over wintering suggestions. Colored photographs include both foliage and flowers where appropriate.

Conclusion

I think it is time for me to move to Florida. I would love to add all these lovely plants to my garden immediately but I don’t want to have to lug them all back inside every fall. I found several ideas for containers that would brighten my front porch without creating a severe over wintering problem. I am sure that almost any other gardener would also find ideas suitable for their growing conditions.