By Andrew Bunting, PHS VP of Horticulture 

Looking for tropical garden ideas that work in tight spaces? These small tropical garden ideas can turn even a tiny courtyard into a lush escape. From bold container plantings to smart layering techniques, here's how to create a beautiful tropical garden that brings the jungle to your small space. 

1. How to Design a Small Tropical Garden

With a bit of creativity, even the smallest courtyards, narrow patios, or compact backyards can flourish into an urban jungle for most of the growing season. 

Gardeners today have a wide array of bold tropical plants available at local garden centers, nurseries, and plant sales. From dramatic plants like bananas, cannas, palms, and elephant ears, to medium-sized selections and spilling plants for edging. 

When thinking through your tropical garden design, consider: 

• Where will your plants go? Some homes have existing beds to tuck tropicals into, while others may rely on containers. 
• How much space is available? A mix of in-ground plantings and pots often gives the most flexibility. 

2. Best Containers for Your Tropical Courtyard Garden

Containers are essential to many small tropical garden ideas. Choose pots that reflect your personal taste and match the style of your home or patio. But beyond aesthetics, there are a few practical considerations: 

• Size: The size of the container is important.  It should be big enough to allow plants to grow and flourish over the course of the summer. For example, a banana, palm or canna might need a fairly large container to accommodate luxuriant growth over the summer. 
• Weight: Heavier pots offer stability and help prevent top-heavy plants from tipping in wind or storms. 
• Drainage: Always use pots with drainage holes. Without proper drainage, soil becomes waterlogged, and roots may rot. 

Containers can be purchased at many shops and nurseries. Many vessels can double as containers as long as drainage is addressed, so get creative and reuse where possible! 

3. Layering Tropical Plants in Small Spaces 

One of the most impactful tropical garden ideas is layering. It’s a technique that helps create fullness and height, especially critical in a small courtyard. 

Start with your focal point: A tall plant like a banana or palm in a large pot. Around that, group medium-sized containers with specimens like cannas, elephant ears, bromeliads, and begonias. Then, accent with smaller pots filled with flowering or spilling plants. 

Try arranging all containers in place before planting. This helps you visualize the scale, spacing, and flow of your small tropical garden. 

4. Best Plants for a Small Tropical Garden 

When planning your urban jungle, focus on plants with bold foliage, fast growth, and unmistakable tropical flair. The right plant selections are essential to achieving impactful results in small tropical garden spaces. 

Bananas 

Banana plants thrive in heat and humidity, growing rapidly with ample watering and fertilizing. 

One standout is the red Abyssinian banana, Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurellii’. When planted in May as a modest two-foot-tall specimen, it can soar to over ten feet by the end of summer. This variety features a striking “trunk” and large, linear leaves with burgundy undersides and red veins. 

Other excellent bananas to try include Musa ‘Thai Black’ and Musa basjoo, the latter being hardy in the ground in warmer climates. 

Palms 

Palms are readily available at garden centers and even box stores. They vary widely in appearance but typically add a finer texture to your tropical garden design, thanks to their dissected leaves. Some palms also have impressively large fronds, offering great contrast to broader-leaved tropicals.  

A few commonly available palms include the upright and fine-textured Areca palm, Dypsis lutescens, which is ideal for adding lightness and movement. The Bismarck palm, Bismarckia nobilis, features striking, windmill-shaped fronds in an attractive glaucous blue, making it a bold architectural statement. For a coarser texture, the upright fishtail palm, Caryota monostachya, brings a unique look with its jagged, tail-like leaflets. 

Cannas 

Like bananas, cannas are known for their quick growth and dramatic presence. 

Some are grown primarily for their foliage, like Canna ‘Pretoria’, which showcases yellow and green striping, or Canna Tropicanna™, known for its burgundy and pink striations. 

Canna musaefolia, as the name suggests, resembles a banana plant with its bold, elongated leaves. Starting from a rhizome in May, it can reach over twelve feet tall by summer’s end. 

Flowering cannas like ‘Wyoming’ (purple foliage and orange flowers) and ‘Australia’ (black-purple leaves and red blooms) bring additional color. 

For smaller spaces, the Cannova® canna series provides vibrant flowers in shades of yellow, orange, pink, and rose—all on compact plants perfect for containers. 

Elephant Ears 

Elephant ears, including Colocasia, Alocasia, and Xanthosoma, are a must for tropical garden enthusiasts. These plants are defined by their large, heart-shaped leaves that evoke the ears of elephants. 

Some varieties, like Colocasia ‘Thai Giant’, are truly massive, reaching heights over twelve feet. 

For more modest containers, medium-sized options include: 

• Colocasia ‘Illustris’, with black leaves and green veins 
• ‘Lime Zinger’ and ‘Maui Gold’, featuring bright yellow or chartreuse leaves 
• ‘Black Magic’ and ‘Coal Miner’, which display nearly black foliage 
• ‘Mojito’, with green leaves splashed in black 
• ‘Pharaoh’s Mask’, a standout with bold black veins raised on the leaf surface 

These selections add height, color, and architectural drama to your tropical garden, even in small spaces. 

5. Add Bold Accents with Unique Tropical Plants 

Once your tall focal plants are in place, layer in smaller tropical plants to add texture, contrast, and depth. This step is key to enriching your small tropical garden design. 

Begonias 

The Jurassic™ begonia series offers stunning leaf patterns in silver, maroon, pink, and white. These upright-growing begonias reach about twelve inches tall and are available in several striking cultivars. 

Bromeliads 

Bromeliads are perfect accent plants, offering architectural structure and vivid color: 

• Aechmea blanchetiana has arching, yellow-orange strap-like leaves 
• Alcantarea imperialis forms a bold rosette of purple-tinged foliage 
• Alcantarea odorata showcases silver-white spear-like leaves 

Smaller bromeliads like Neoregelia add color without overpowering nearby plants. Look for cultivars such as: 

• ‘Fireball’ – red foliage and spreading stems 
• ‘Cookie’ – pink and burgundy striped rosette 
• ‘Casablanca’ – a fresh combination of yellow and green 

Tropical Ferns 

Ferns provide soft texture beneath bold tropicals. ‘Rita’s Gold’ is a lemon-yellow variation of the Boston fern, while Blechnum brasiliense adds a rich, burgundy accent with its upright rosettes. 

These accent plants not only complement the large tropicals but also make your small tropical garden feel layered and full. 

6. Edging and Spilling Plants for a Lush Look 

No tropical garden is complete without plants that spill over pots and soften edges. These help to create a more natural, overflowing look even in tight spaces. 

Simple options like ivies can work well, but more impactful choices include: 

• Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’, with its cascading silver foliage 
• Tradescantia ‘Nanouk’, featuring bold pink, green, and white variegation 

For vibrant, season-long color, cupheas are a fantastic option. Their tubular orange or pink flowers bloom all summer and attract pollinators. 

Another must-have is Coleus (Solenostemon), grown for its spectacular leaves. With hundreds of cultivars in colors ranging from bright yellow and burgundy to deeply variegated shades, Coleus adds instant drama and visual interest. 

Spilling and edging plants not only fill gaps but also complete the layered, immersive feel of your tropical garden. 

7. Easy-Care Tips for Your Tropical Garden 

Maintaining your small tropical garden doesn’t need to be labor-intensive. A few regular practices can keep it thriving all season: 

• Water generously, as most tropicals love heat and moisture. 
• Feed regularly to support lush foliage and flowering. 
• Deadhead spent blooms and remove blemished leaves. 
• Rearrange containers as needed to give growing plants more space. 

No matter how small your courtyard is, you can bring the lushness of the tropics home. These small tropical garden ideas prove that you don’t need a large backyard to enjoy bold foliage, dramatic textures, and summer-long color. With layered design, container creativity, and smart plant choices, your own tropical garden paradise is just a few pots away.