Small Tropical Garden Ideas

The tropical plants with big leaves and bright colors evoke a sense of relaxation in many people. Many tropical resorts are filled with gardens that encourage guests to wander, relax and stay awhile. Working with tropical plants at home helps provide people with that same sense of vacation. Recreating a tropical garden at home involves proper plant choice, informal design and lots of color. Bright tropical plants have the ability to withstand high heat while adding a burst of color to the garden. Their lush, jungly foliage adds dimension to the space. Add in one larger sized plant to create a specimen plant within the garden. Utilize vertical space like a garden wall or trellis by planting creeping vines. 

Just because the garden is small, doesn’t mean you can’t create an outdoor oasis to use for entertaining and relaxing. Fill the space with vibrant, fiery plants and flowers to create the tropical feel. Nothing evokes the feeling of the tropics like trickling, cascading water. Nestled within the garden, a container water feature scaled to fit into the space creates a focal point to the small tropical space. Made in a wide range of materials including concrete and metal, they also help to water surrounding plants. Around the water feature, plant thirsty plants.

Extend your outdoor living space to the tropical garden. Add comfortable, weather-resistant outdoor seating to the garden to use for relaxing admiring the garden. Durable seating like a set of outdoor teak or metal chairs don’t take up a lot of space but helps to create a tropical feel. Add a few tiki lanterns around the seating area to light at night for a magical glow. Along the seating area, fill a few containers with small bright plants. To make your small garden harmonious, plant masses of just a few different kinds of flowers. The final element of a small tropical garden is completely optional, but ornamental grasses add nice texture to a small garden. They also add color when the flowers aren’t blooming.