Bird of paradise earns its name honestly — its orange and blue blooms erupt from a beak-shaped bract in a striking silhouette that really does resemble a tropical bird in flight.
Native to South Africa, bird of paradise has become a signature architectural plant for warm-climate landscaping and a bold statement houseplant everywhere else, valued as much for its large, glossy, banana-like leaves as for its dramatic flowers.
Bird of paradise wants full sun and rich, well-draining soil, and it needs a few years of maturity before it will reliably flower. Indoors, give it the brightest spot available and be patient — mature plants kept pot-bound often bloom more freely than those recently repotted into larger containers.
Bird of paradise symbolizes freedom, joy, and paradise itself, its exotic, soaring form long associated with faithfulness and good perspective in life.
