I have a really old, rustic, wooden table with matching chairs out on a patio, surrounded by Queen palms, A young Bismarckia Nobilis, Jubaea Chilensis, Dypsis Decipiens, Aloe Ferox, Aloe Marlothii and Agave Desmettiana (Nothing like sculptural desert tropicals). The queen palms are the only ones that are large enough to see. The rest are still young and will take a couple of years to be of noticeable size. Here is the table in the background of this photo (sorry for all the mess)

{{gwi:1302496}}

I also have a hammock from my native El Salvador hanging under a ramada.

{{gwi:1302497}}

I also have a couple of wooden plant stands made from scrap wood.

Thanks for the reply. Your pictures are no longer viewable, but I did manage to see them before they 'disappeared'.

A hammock is a great idea, and from your home land country makes it that much more special for you. I think you are right, wooden plant stands and furniture seem to fit into a tropical garden. I want to find an old wooden crate (garage sales?) and make either a corner table or a wooden planter. then I've thrown around the idea of a fishing net hanging on the fence, maybe a nautical tropical theme.

After buying numerous palms, crotons, rubber plant and having a few banana plants, I think I am pretty well done for buying plants as I can't overwinter all of them indoors and it gets a bit expensive so now, that's part of the fun, trying to find accessories that fit in the tropical theme.

Glen

One of my most wanted tropicalesque garden accessories is a carved Tiki head. :)

After the last severe storm, there was downed trees everywhere and I was able to pick up a few logs to try my luck at carving one. And if that project doesn't turn out, well... it can easily be used for firewood and I can start over on the next log.

I am already picturing how cool my Tiki head will look lit up by the bamboo torches at night. The only small problem is that I don't really know how to start carving it LOL!

))i(( Jennifer

Jennifer, a home crafted tiki head sounds great. Maybe try to find pictures on the internet and go from there? I found these Easter Island statue ornaments at a local store and they are pretty neat. Bought a few of them to stand side by side, sort of like they do on Easter Island. Also bought a fake-thatch umbrella cover on ebay as the original thatch umbrellas cost a fortune. Maybe I'll just put it over my umbrella on special occasions. Found a few old wooden crates at a garage sale, okay they say "Canada dry ginger ale" on them but they still are kind of neat. I have one on the deck with a croton (in a separate pot) inside it.

Regarding statues or tiki heads, etc, they are pretty pricey to buy online, plus hard to find, and shipping is expensive due to the weight, so maybe you have the right idea by creating your own. Would love to see pictures when you're done.

Glen

My husband did a Tiki style carving out of a nice piece of redwood. It looks great, even if it's not exactly traditional tiki. He just sketched it out and played around with wood carving tools for a while. This year I gave it a coat of stain to freshen it up.

I also have bamboo edging (although I put most of it away this year for a cleaner look), bamboo fencing, a bamboo bench, tiki torches. My favorite accessory is my Guan Yin statue, it was a splurge, but I love it! This is a photo from a few years ago, so the garden has changed a lot around her, but here's Guan Yin...

I also have a buddha and a dragon statue. My style is kind of Southeast Asian tropicalesque.

Here is a link that might be useful: Guan Yin statue

I am hoping to get a solar fountain to bring the sound of water. (no outlets nearby for a pump) Also covet a statue of Anubis that I've seen at a local garden center. Hmm, the southeast asin theme with a Buddha sounds interesting, too.

I made a small pond. It is filled from run off from the roof and I never clean it, put chemicals or anything in it. (all natural)
Wood frogs (rana sylvatica) colonized a few years ago and late winter/ early Spring they are out there croaking, mating and making tadpoles. Its neat to watch the process and have life in the garden besides plants.

I carved a "tiki" pole, the earlier posts about carving your own is a good idea. I've found How-to's on the net that make it pretty easy.

You can buy thatch in rolls pretty cheap. I have an overhang covered with it over a homemade tiki bar with habitat for humanity supplies. It came out awesome. I have some vintage coconut carved heads which are fun. Also I have a great tiki bought off eBay. Solar tiki lights. Real fire ones look better but I know I'll hardly ever light them. Also a fountain I replaced the plug in pump with a solar one again bought off eBay. Who wants to come over for a tiki party!!

I have my eye out for an old cast off patio umbrella frame. I figure I could make a nice palapa-style umbrella by wiring some of that thatch onto the bare frame.

Driftwood is very tropical!! Bromeliads fit well inside too as a table centerpiece or just outside as a showcase

Go and type in Design Toscano. They have tons of statues and other items featuring tropical and other subjects. They may be a bit pricey though, but you can decide if it's worth it for each thing. Also the hypertufa forum can show you how to mix up a medium, usually peat moss, cement and sharp sand and carve things that after setting up and curing, look like stone.

If you have a Big Lots store near you they have some tropical looking stuff too. Wal-Mart have umbrellas that have (possibly fake) tan grass looking pieces covering the top, like a straw covered look. Like the grass skirts in Hawwaii.

THE most tropical accessory I think you can have is a potted water garden.Even using temperate lilies, they look so tropical and are hardly any trouble. You can even add real tropical fish over the summer months.

Here's what you do :)
http://www.aquascapingworld.com/magazine/Magazine/Urban-Pond-Tubbin-Water-Gardens.html

Look on ebay, type in tropical yard art, or something like that. But seriously Design Tascano has tons of stuff. I don't own the company or benefit from someone buying from them, but they have tons of statues etc.