Just a few feet from my front door are treasures from Mexico, China, Japan, Africa, and South America. Although most of my garden is planted with species native to Florida, our subtropical climate allows for the use of hardy tropicals from all over the globe.
This beautiful plant is a Star begonia (Begonia heracleifolia). It grows quite well in light to deep shade, and its foliage has an iridescent sparkle. I grow it beneath a tall clump of graceful Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea microspadix). Both plants hail from Mexico. The grass-like plant is Monkey grass (Ophiopogon japonicus), a terrific ground cover for shade - all three plants are shade lovers with low water requirements.
The begonia is deciduous most years, but makes a nice ground cover for the evergreen palms during the summer and fall. It's not an easy plant to come by, so if you stumble across one during your travels, be sure to bring it back home to your garden.
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