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.
Common Name(s):
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.
Common Name(s):
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.
Common Name(s):
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.
Common Name(s):
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.
Common Name(s):
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.
Common Name(s):
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.
Common Name(s):
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.
Common Name(s):
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.
Common Name(s):
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.
Common Name(s):
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.
Common Name(s):
Heliconia is a genus of flowering plants in the Heliconiaceae family, primarily native to the tropical Americas, with a few species found in the western Pacific and Indonesia. Most species grow in tropical forests and are either vulnerable or data deficient on the IUCN Red List. Heliconias are widely cultivated as ornamentals and some are naturalized in regions like Florida and Thailand. Heliconia bihai, or red palulu, is an erect herb native to northern South America and the West Indies, commonly pollinated by bats and hummingbirds. Its upward-facing flowers serve as natural water sources for birds and insects.
Common Name(s):
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.
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.
Common Name(s):
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.
Common Name(s):
Chrysalidocarpus Lutescens, also know as Bamboo palm 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.
Common Name(s):
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.
Billbergia nutans is an epiphytic bromeliad native to Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. This plant is often used as an ornamental plant.
Common Name(s):
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.
