Miami’s Tropical Garden Oasis
The Palms’ backyard gardens provide 1.5 acres of lush, tropical foliage and peaceful surroundings where guests can indulge in quiet rest and relaxation.
Home to a variety of palms, exotic orchids and tropical plants, we invite you to learn more about some of our favorite species found in our gardens.
Alpinia Zerumbet
Common Name(s):
Shell flower
Pink porcelain lily
Variegated ginger
Butterfly ginger
Light galangal
Alpinia zerumbet, commonly known is a perennial species of ginger native to East Asia. The plants can grow up to 2.5 to 3 meters (8 to 10 ft) tall and bear colorful funnel-shaped flowers. They are grown as ornamentals and their leaves are used in cuisine and traditional medicine.
Beaucarnea Recurvata
Common Name(s):
Bottle Palm
Ponytail Palm
Pony Tail Plant
Beaucarnea recurvata, also known as Ponytail Palm, is a flowering plant in the Asparagaceae family native to Veracruz, Mexico. Though not a true palm, it’s popular as an ornamental plant worldwide. It’s an evergreen perennial that grows up to 15 feet with a bulbous trunk for water storage and produces strap-shaped, leathery leaves. After about 10 years, it may also produce small white flowers.
Billbergia Nutans
Billbergia nutansis an epiphytic bromeliad native to Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. This plant is often used as an ornamental plant.
Bougainvillea Glabra
Common Name(s):
Paperflower
Paper Flower
Bougainvillea is often grown as an annual or container plant. The actual flower is small and insignificant, it is the colorful bracts, or modified leaves, which can be seen in all shades of pink, purple, and red that attract attention. Bougainvillea is best suited to a hot, dry climate and should be watered deeply but allowed to dry out between waterings. Once established, they are drought resistant. It is a woody climber with curved thorns that sprawls and needs to be tied or have a structure such as a fence, wall, or pergola for support.
Chrysalidocarpus Lutescens
Common Name(s):
Bamboo Palm
Butterfly Palm
Cane Palm
Golden Butterfly Palm
Golden Feather Palm
Yellow Palm
Chrysalidocarpus Lutescens, also know as Bamboo alm is a tropical perennial native to Madagascar in the palm family (Arecaceae) family. It can grow to 30 feet tall and 15 feet wide in its native habitat. The genus name refers to the fruits, which are ellipsoidal and resemble a chrysalis.
Clerodendrum Thomsoniae
Common Name(s):
Bleeding glory-bower
Bagflower
Clerodendrum thomsoniae, is a flowering plant native to tropical West Africa. This evergreen liana grows up to 13 feet tall with ovate to oblong leaves. Its flowers, arranged in clusters, have a white to pale purple five-lobed calyx and a red five-lobed corolla. The leaves are arranged opposite each other in alternating pairs along the stem.
Cocos Nucifera
Cocos nucifera, or coconut palm, is a tropical symbol found worldwide, including along Florida's coasts. It’s the most economically important palm globally. Coconut meat is consumed fresh, dried, or immature, and coconut oil, derived from dried meat (copra), is used in cooking and cosmetics. Coir, the fiber from the husk, is used in substrate mixes and rope-making.
Goeppertia Insignis
Common Name(s):
Prayer Plant
Rattlesnake Calathea
Rattlesnake Master
Goeppertia insignis, or Rattlesnake Plant, is a tropical evergreen native to Brazilian rainforests, known for its striking foliage and yellow flowers. Typically grown indoors in North America, it features wavy leaves with purple undersides and green markings resembling rattlesnake patterns. The plant has a fountain-like form, growing up to 1.5 feet tall indoors and up to 2.5 feet outdoors.
Heliconia Bihai
Common Name(s):
Toucan Beak
Wild Plantain
False Bird of Paradise
Balisier
Macawflower
Howea Foresteriana
Common Name(s):
Forster Sentry Palm
Paradise Palm
Sentry Palm
Thatch Palm
Howea forsteriana, or Kentia Palm, is a slow-growing palm native to Lord Howe Island, Australia, and widely grown on Norfolk Island. It can reach up to 33 feet tall with 10 feet long fronds. Named after Lord Howe Island's capital, Kentia, and naturalists Johann and Georg Forster, the species is considered vulnerable by the World Conservation Union. The Kentia Palm gained popularity as a houseplant in Europe and the U.S. during the Victorian era, becoming a quintessential 'parlor palm' from the 1870s when seed exports began from Lord Howe Island.
Justicia Spicigera
Common Name(s):
Firecracker bush
Justicia spicigera, is an evergreen shrub with tubular orange flowers, native to parts of Central America and the Caribbean. It grows 2-5 feet tall in full sun or partial shade, with 2-inch leaves that attract hummingbirds. While it prefers warm climates, it can tolerate temperatures down to -3 °C (26 °F). When boiled, Muicle leaves can produce colors like purple, pink, green, and orange, depending on pH. The plant contains various phytochemicals and is used to make tea, natural dye, and in traditional medicine, as well as a brightening agent in laundry.
Pachystachys Lutea
Common Name(s):
Lollipop Plant
Pachystachys lutea, is a tropical, soft-stemmed evergreen shrub between 2-8 feet tall, native to Peru. The zygomorphic, long-throated, short-lived white flowers emerge sequentially from overlapping bright yellow bracts on racemes that are produced throughout the warm months.
Pandanus Tectorius
Common Name(s):
Pandan
Screw Palm
Pandanus tectorius is a tropical plant with over 600 species in the screwpine family (Pandanaceae). The species is a variegated dwarf variety that gets no more than 2 feet tall and is commonly grown as a houseplant. Strappy leaves with visible parallel veins. They require indirect light as too much sunlight can burn them. Prefers warm, humid conditions.
Phoenix Canariensis
Common Name(s):
Canary Date Palm
Canary Island Date Palm
Phoenix canariensis, the Canary Island date palm or pineapple palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the Canary Islands off the coast of Northwestern Africa. It is a relative of Phoenix dactylifera, the true date palm. Mature canariensis are often used in ornamental landscaping and are collected and transplanted to their new planting location.
Platycerium Bifurcatum
Common Name(s):
Elkhorn Fern
Platycerium bifurcatum is an epiphyte occurring naturally in tropical areas. An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. It clings to trees using roots and is rhizomatous, the rhizomes spreading to short-creeping, often branched, and are hidden by fronds. It will continue to develop pups from these rhizomes, forming a colony of plants. It gets its common name from its leaves, they resemble the forked antlers of a stag.
Rhapis Excelsa
Common Name(s):
Bamboo Palm
Braodleaf Lady Palm
Fan Tufted Palm
Rhapis excelsa is an evergreen fan palm that resembles a cycad. It is native to southern China and northern Vietnam. As an indoor plant, it needs indirect light, withstands deep shade and has low humidity requirements. It needs well-drained potting soil and regular watering except in the winter when watering can be reduced. It is a good specimen to use near doors because of cool air tolerance in winter.
Roystonea Regia
Common Name(s):
Royal Palm
Florida Royal Palm
Roystonea regia, or Royal Palm, is a large ornamental palm native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Florida, and parts of Central America. It typically grows 50-80 feet tall and has been widely planted in the tropics and subtropics. This palm is used for thatch, construction, and in traditional medicine, though scientific support for medicinal uses is lacking. Its fruit is consumed by birds, bats, and livestock, and its flowers attract various animals. The Royal Palm is Cuba’s national tree and plays a role in Santería and Christianity, particularly in Palm Sunday observances.
Strelitzia Reginae
Common Name(s):
Bird's Tongue Flower
Crane Flower
The Bird of Paradise Flower is a clumping tropical plant native to South Africa. Its large gray-green leaves arise from underground rhizomes. It is best known for its large unusual inflorescence that resembles a bird's head. It blooms intermittently throughout the year.