Create a Tropical Paradise in a Pot

Imagine Bali: lush palms, bright flowers, and the spicy-sweet scents of jasmine, tuberose, and frangipani. You can recreate that mood with plants from your local nursery. Start in the houseplant section for foliage, then add fragrant bloomers like Bouvardia longiflora or datura. A foliage-focused pot is easier to maintain.

Plants for a Tropical Container (Summer through Fall)

Houseplants: arrowhead vine (Syngonium), bloodleaf (Iresine), bromeliads (billbergia, neoregelia, vriesea), calathea (peacock plant, zebra plant), cordyline, ctenanthe, maranta (arrowroot, prayer plant, rabbit's foot).

Foliage Annuals: dwarf cannas, New Guinea impatiens, plectranthus, purple-leafed basil, shiso (Perilla frutescens), variegated nasturtium.

For Fragrance: nicotiana or tuberose.

Bring containers indoors before frost. Enhance your pocket paradise with exotic garden art—Balinese or Javanese statues add authentic flair.

More Tropical Options

Houseplants: aluminum plant (Pilea cadierei), bromeliads, corn plant (Dracaena fragrans), dieffenbachia, inch plant (Callisia elegans), purple passion vine (Gynura aurantiaca).

Foliage Annuals: amaranth, Euphorbia marginata 'Summer Icicle', polka-dot plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya), zonal geraniums.

A container of tropical foliage and fragrance turns any patio into an island escape.