Colorful Tropical Plants Make a Perfect Compliment to Flowers on Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching. In all price ranges, from naughty to nice, the familiar red boxes kick start some color and romance into the dreary winter. You can get flowers and candy, something from Frederick's, one of those east coast teddy bears, or a real tiny box with something in it that costs a lot of money. Flowers and candy are probably the most popular Valentine's gifts. They represent beauty and sweetness. If you decide to go that route and your Valentine is into gardening, why not accent those flowers with one of these colorful plants:

Most tropical houseplants feature bright colors of orange, red, and yellow. They are easy to maintain, adapting well to a spot in the garden that has morning sun and afternoon shade in the summer, and can be moved inside before the first frost. One thing to remember is that since these plants are from the tropics, they like a lot of humidity. When you keep them indoors, they can be kept in a room with bright light and high humidity, or you can set them on a tray filled with pebbles and keep the pebbles moist.

Croton is one of the most popular indoor houseplants because of its showy foliage. Their color ranges from yellow to purple, pink, green, and bronze. They enjoy the sun and can grow up to 4 feet tall.

The Bird of Paradise is one of my favorite houseplants. It gets its name from the unique shape of its flowers that look like orange and blue birds. It likes its sun, so keep it near a window. The Bird of Paradise also makes very nice cut flower arrangements.

The Ti plant is native to Hawaii. Its lance shaped leaves emerge bright pink and then turn a dark burgundy red or green, depending on the variety. Keep them moist and in partial shade.

If you'd like a little cool blue to tone down the passion of all of the reds, then try a Hardy Plumbago. This is an outdoor plant than can overwinter, but the clear marine blue flowers add a touch of elegance to the reds in a cut arrangement.

The Rex Begonia produces nice, deep red flowers and the heart-shaped leaves provide a nice show of red and green. Outside, it prefers mostly shade, but when you bring it inside, be sure to keep the humidity high.