(Gloryblower, Mexican Hydrangea)

With handsome, glossy, plump heart-shaped leaves, cashmere bouquet steals the show in summer with clustered flower-balls of fragrant, dark and light pink blossoms. A subropical, semi-woody, deciduous shrub that very aggresively spreads out roots to become a thicket, it is native to eastern India, Burma and southwestern China. The leaves emerge with a purple tint, unfurling into a large, obese, heart-shaped blade with a semi-glossy dark green color. The edges are lined with many short, soft teeth....

(Shooting Star, Starburst Clerodendrum)

This is one of the tropic's most beautiful flowering shrubs. Large, dark-green and burgundy leaves are the backdrop for firework-resembling, pink and white flower clusters in late winter and early spring. A large, frost-tender shrub from the Philippines, shooting star is typically evergreen but will lose foliage if the dry season is exceptionally cool or dry. The leaves can grow quite long, being oval to oblong in shape, a dull, dark green above with a glossy, purple to burgundy underside.

Depending...

(Variegated Shooting Star)

Large cream, dark-green and burgundy variegated leaves are the backdrop for fireworks-like, pink and white flower clusters in late winter and early spring. A large, frost-tender shrub from the Philippines, 'Brandonii' was selected by Mark Herndon of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 1995. It is typically evergreen but will lose foliage if the dry season is exceptionally cool or dry. The leaves can grow quite long, being oval to oblong in shape. They are dark green with patches of pale green and cream above...

(Bagflower, Bleeding Heart Vine)

Beautiful flower clusters of red and white adorn this West African flowering vine when growing conditions are favorable. Bleeding heart vine is evergreen, though it will lose some leaves during the cool, dry African winter. It is vigorous and climbs via twining stems. In the wild, it twines up trees in tropical forests, so it’s naturally shade tolerant.

The dark green leaves of bleeding heart vine are ovate and deeply veined. During the growing season, or when conditions are favorable, it bears...

(Blue Butterfly Bush, Glorybower)

The unusual, colorful flowers of blue butterfly bush make this a highly sought after garden plant for temperate and tropical gardens alike. This rangy, frost-tender, evergreen shrub is native to tropical East Africa. Often listed as a vine, it has a weak, upright habit and sometimes requires support, though it is far too rangy or bushy to be considered a true vine.

Large, coarsely toothed, elliptical leaves of medium green line the square stems in opposite arrangement. The flowers are borne...

(Coastal Sweetpepperbush, White SummersweetWhite Dove™ Summersweet)

With attractive leaves, compact upright habit, and fuzzy spikes of fragrant flowers, summersweet is a suckering deciduous shrub native to the eastern United States from Maine to Florida. White Dove™ is a dwarf selection which grows lower and flowers later than 'Hummingbird'. In midsummer, its spicy-scented white flowers attract butterflies and bees. Peppercorn-like seed heads follow the flowers, providing winter interest. The leaves turn butter-yellow in fall.

White Dove™ needs a moist, acid...

(Lily-of-the-valley Tree, Madeira Laurel)

Lily-of-the-valley tree's lustrous deep green leaves are the perfect backdrop for the late summertime white blossoms that mimic those of the common perennial lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria). Native to the highland center of the Madeira Islands off of the northwest coast of Africa, this broadleaf evergreen small tree grows best in mild climates with nearly frost-free winters and many regard this as the finest of all Clethra species. It's also called the Madeira laurel.

Ranging...

(Clivia)

Attractive and adaptable, this evergreen herbaceous perennial from South Africa produces sturdy-stemmed clusters (umbels) of orange trumpet-shaped blooms above a graceful fountain of strappy, fibrous, dark green foliage. Flowering usually occurs in winter and spring, but occasionally at other seasons. Many cultivars are available including yellow-flowered and variegated selections.

This bulbous, freeze-intolerant plant thrives in partial shade and porous, gritty but humus-rich, well-drained soil....

Attractive and adaptable, this evergreen herbaceous perennial from South Africa produces sturdy-stemmed clusters (umbels) of orange trumpet-shaped blooms above a graceful fountain of strappy, fibrous, dark green foliage. Flowering usually occurs in winter and spring, but occasionally at other seasons. Many cultivars are available including yellow-flowered and variegated selections.

This bulbous, freeze-intolerant plant thrives in partial shade and porous, gritty but humus-rich, well-drained soil....

(Clivia, Golden Dragon Clivia)

A yellow flower, once unknown in clivia, is a prized feature of ‘Golden Dragon.’ It blooms with clusters of large, trumpet-shaped flowers in early spring. The flowers rise on sturdy stems from a graceful fountain of large, strappy, dark-green leaves joined in a thick base. Red berries follow the flowers. When the plant is not in flower, the leaves remain showy. Its parent is an evergreen perennial from South Africa.

This bulb-like plant thrives in partial shade and humus-rich, well-drained soil....