By choosing long-blooming perennial plants, you can capitalize on the best of both worlds – plants that come back from growing season to growing season, and those that bloom for an extended length of time.

It only takes a few plants to cast a tropical look upon a garden. Although our gardening zone here isn’t strictly tropical, it’s still possible to include some tropical and tropical-looking plants in our landscapes to create a lush summer oasis that hints at a vibrant paradise.