In this episode we explore gardening using tropical plants, with Marianne Willburn. Marianne shares insights on how to successfully incorporate tropical and subtropical plants into your not so tropical garden.

She breaks down the gardening process into relational categories such as 'Summer Romances', 'Long Term Commitments', Best Friends, 'Friends with Benefits' and 'High Maintenance Partners'.

Marianne stresses the importance of being open to experimenting with these plants, seeking new adventures and exploring the risk reward cycle.  

Our conversation also covers practical advice on transitioning plants to the outdoors in spring and back in doors in the fall , utilizing tropical plants for garden design, and methods for dealing with common gardening challenges like pests and storage limitations.

The discussion is rich with gardening philosophy, advocating for flexibility, a gardening approach that values both aesthetic beauty and ecological balance.

IG @Marianne.Willburn

Tropical Plants and How to Love Them

Big Dreams, Small Garden

MarianneWillburn.com

GardenRant.com

AHS - The American Gardener

Time Line:

00:00 Welcome to The Garden Question Podcast

00:40 Exploring Tropical Gardening with Marianne Willburn

02:00 Building Relationships with Tropical Plants

03:10 Summer Romances: Annual Tropical Plants

05:44 Long Term Commitments: Houseplants That Thrive Outdoors

12:33 Friends with Benefits: Edible Tropicals

15:25 High Maintenance Partners: Demanding Tropical Plants

18:41 Best Friends: Easy Storage Tropical Plants

23:58 Designing with Tropicals in Your Garden

33:16 Embracing the Unpredictability of Gardening

33:59 Exploring Mock Tropicals and Hardy Plants

35:24 Discovering 'Blind Date' Tropical Plants

36:55 The Showstopper: Red Abyssinian Banana

39:21 Low Investment Tropical Gardening Tips

41:20 Transitioning Tropical Plants Seasonally

42:55 Introducing 'Tropical Plants and How to Love Them'

47:11 The Joy and Challenges of Gardening

56:41 Creative Approaches and Gardening Wisdom

01:00:57 Final Thoughts and How to Connect