Christmas may carry a distinctly northern bias—snow and reindeer and all—but for holiday-hued landscapes and floral arrangements, turn to the tropics.
In tandem with our annual winter celebration, Johnsonville Night Lights in the Garden, our horticulturists have decked the Garden with red, white, and silver annuals. Here, Assistant Director of Horticulture Andrea Grace shares some of her favorites and tips for creating holiday displays at home.
Coleus: These versatile, heat-loving plants come in a range of hues and are adapted to a variety of light conditions. “There are just so many to pick from,” Grace says. Easy to tend, they require minimal watering and grow to fill a lot of space, making them an economical choice for a garden bed or planter. At the Garden, you can see several varieties—from the crimson ‘Wizard Velvet Red’ to the earthy ‘Flame Thrower Red Salsa’ in the Lea Asian Garden.
Salvias: These tall, slender flower spikes come in red and white varieties (we’ve used ‘Hummingbird Forest Fire’ and ‘Hummingbird Snow Nymph’) and add a nice contrast to clumping, bushy foliage plants like coleus. Find them in the Scott Florida Garden and Kapnick Caribbean Garden.
SunPatiens: These brightly colored blooms are more temperamental than the easy-going coleus and may need replacing if you extend your holiday palette beyond the winter months. But they bring a dash of cheer to your garden, making their upkeep well worth it. See them by Kapnick Hall.
Centaurea ragusina ‘Silver Swirl’
Centaurea ragusina ‘Silver Swirl’: Look closely, and you might note that the leaves of this silver-hued, evergreen perennial resemble snowflakes.
Pentas: Florida-favorite pentas come in a spectrum of reds. Even more reminiscent of Christmas, the flower clusters consist of tiny star-shaped blooms.
Gazanias: These drought tolerant blooms might remind you of sunflowers. We like the ‘Kiss Red Frosty’ and contrasting ‘Kiss White Frosty’ varieties. A word of caution, however. You’ll want to host daytime gatherings if you want your guests to enjoy them; the flowers close at night.
Bromeliads: This wide-ranging tropical plant family has many species and varieties that shine with holiday spirit. Our holiday tree features the crimson red ‘Avalon’ and the red-and-green ‘Green Apple’ variety.
The above plants do well in containers, Grace says. More is more when container gardening. “Really pack it in,” she says. “If something is failing, you can take it out.” She adheres to the “thriller, filler, and spiller” theory of container gardening—a spectacular bloom, foliage fillers, and trailing, vine-like plants that complete the picture. Among the spillers she recommends are silver falls ( Dichondra argentea), creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia), and Muehlenbeckia vines, also known as wire vines.
Vary your plants by height, as well, Grace advises. From this list, pentas and coleus are tall, salvias are a middle height, and everything else will be smaller.
Did You Know?
Many of the “traditional” seasonal plants depicted in chilly winter scenes are actually tropical!
Poinsettias originate in Mexico and Central America. You can plant these in your sultry Florida backyard when the holidays are over.
Amaryllis, those bulb-grown, trumpet-shaped flowers commonly used in holiday floral displays, come from Central and South American and the Caribbean.
American mistletoe grows from New Jersey to Florida and wraps the Gulf Coast to Texas. Pucker up!
And Florida has several varieties of holly including dahoon, yaupon, and the state-threatened Krug. They may not be the English ivy depicted on Christmas cards, but they enliven the landscape all the same!
