Lush Tropical Landscape Ideas

Just because you don't live in the tropics doesn't mean you can't create a jungly feel in your own landscape. To create a lush and tropical landscape, grow exotic-looking blooms with fiery colors. Combine contrasting colors like deep green and lime green mixed with bright reds and yellows to enhance the tropical feel. Don't forget to bring in a key tropical component, water. This can be done with birdbaths, water features or fountains.

Tropical Border

Choose tropical looking plants to create a border around the lawn for a lush design. Combine different plant heights, colors and textures to create a tropical and well-balanced border. In the back of the bed, grow a large elephant ear plant. As the name suggests, the elephant ear has large heart-shaped leaves with a leathery green to green-gray color that resembles the ear of an elephant. This fast-growing perennial grows up to 6 feet in height and creates a lush effect to the landscape. In the front of the bed, combine coral, red and yellow plants to evoke a tropical feel. A row of red and yellow cannas and zinnias can fill the space with brilliant colors. A giant red hibiscus along the back of the border is the perfect tropical plant to create a bright burst of color with its large flower blooms.

Garden Path

Create a meandering pathway through the landscape and along the tropical border for easy access to different areas of the garden. A curved garden path made from stones like brick or slate contrasts with the surrounding plants for an inviting design. In between the stones to create a lush feel to the space, plant ground covers. The mound-forming blue star creeper has a plethora of tiny blue flowers and is a garden path must. Another lush ground cover is moss. Moss will evoke the feeling of being in the tropics and looks stunning along a garden path.

Water Feature

When you think of a tropical island, water comes to mind. The calming sound of waves beating on the shore mixes nicely with warm sand under your toes. The next-best thing is a water feature. The sounds of the water feature within the landscape create a soothing music, like being surrounded by clear blue water in the tropics. There are many different fountain sizes and colors that can help to create a seamless addition inside the landscape. Nestle the fountain inside the tropical garden border for a cascading focal point. Use the fountain within a courtyard surrounded by pebbles or stones. Around the fountain, bring in lush plants like vibrant green ferns and a creeping sweet potato vine. The trailing sweet potato vine will weave and wind around the base of the water feature for a lush and exotic feel.