There’s no sadder feeling than looking out at your garden and waiting for this year’s flowers to bloom and infuse your space with extra life and color. Too often, we think of garden color as simply a seasonal occurrence. However, this is luckily not the case for us here in Fort Lauderdale, as we are fortunate enough to live in a region where we can grow colorful plants outdoors all year-round. To help you make the most of our ideal climate, we’ve put together a list of some of our favorite plants that are sure to keep your garden looking gorgeous year-round!
Florida Plants with Colorful Foliage to Plant All Year-Round
CROTON
Though they’re often grown as houseplants in much of the country, crotons flourish outside all year-round here in Florida. These breathtaking natives of tropical Southeast Asia and Oceania are instantly recognizable by their waxy leaves and colorful surrealistic veins, which come in neon hues of green, orange, red, yellow, and even purple! Not only are these plants stunning all year-round, but they’re also incredibly hardy and easy to care for. They’ll even tell you when they need to be watered by a slight wilting in their foliage!
TI PLANTS
Another native to Southeast Asia and Oceania, Ti plants do incredibly well here in the Fort Lauderdale area. These plants grow tall and feature stalks with large, waxy green or red leaves that infuse your space with bright colors all year-round. For a truly colorful and dimensional display, plant some caladiums around the base of your ti plants to really bring out those red and green hues!
BROMELIADS
Native to South America, bromeliads are gorgeous tropical plants that provide interest and beauty to your outdoor space all year-round. Available in a myriad of shades and patterns, bromeliads have lush, vibrant foliage and send up brilliantly colored flower spikes when they bloom. When caring for your bromeliad, ensure that it’s receiving adequate water–just enough to stay moist–and keep it out of direct sunlight.
If you’d like a more heat and sun-tolerant alternative to bromeliads, consider the charming cactus! These colorful plants have a similarly stunning curb appeal but are much more tolerant of light and heat, making them an ideal lower-maintenance stand-in.
Here in Fort Lauderdale, we are fortunate enough to live in a region where we can grow colorful plants outdoors all year-round!
Year-Round Bloomers in Fort Lauderdale
PENTAS
The penta, or Egyptian star, is a shrub that produces clusters of bright five-pointed flowers and is perfect for a hedge or patio pot. When they receive adequate light and water, these shrubs will bloom all year-round in Florida, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. These plants tend to have a mind of their own, so keeping them pruned is important if you want to maintain a round shape.
ANGEL WING BEGONIAS
While most of the world keeps these beauties trapped indoors as houseplants, angel-wing begonias thrive all year-round here in Florida, indoors or out! These stunning plants boast lovely dark green wing-shaped foliage with white spots and produce clusters of blooms in orange, white, red, and pink. Truly a show-stopper, angel-wing begonias lend themselves well to patio pots or hanging baskets, though some varieties can grow quite tall!
BOUGAINVILLEA
If you’re on the lookout for beautiful year-round outdoor plants, look no further than the gorgeous bougainvillea. These stunning and hardy climbers thrive in our climate here in Fort Lauderdale, and produce blooms featuring colorful bracts all year-round! Bougainvillea blooms in a range of colors, including pink, white, and purple – all of which are simply dazzling!
If you’re looking to infuse your Fort Lauderdale garden with a bit of year-long color and have been wondering where to buy plants all year-round, look no further than Living Color Garden Center in Fort Lauderdale! We can help you choose the perfect varieties for your space to ensure you’ve got all the beautiful blooms and foliage you’ll need to last every season!