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Friday, May 20, 2011

Colossal Caladiums!

White/Red Veined Caladiums ~ Summer 2007

Caladiums are of my favorite blooms-I say blooms because I heard someone mention that they are blooms.  And I never thought of them in that way.  To me Caladiums are  flowing, fluffy leaves, whimsical and careless in the soft breeze.  But, when I really considered it-yes they are blooms!  My favorite Caladiums are white with red veins.  One lady mentioned, "They are curiously blotched with white and red."  It was early July, I remember, when I took this photo, and fortunately enough, because our computer 'KRASHED' and this is the only one I printed-AAGGHH!  See how the morning sun from the east comes thru the back of the blooms, causing the veins to really stand out.  If you look closely, you can see the morning dew, still resting and waiting for the ride in the breeze, before disappearing into the hot July day.

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"AW"-the little fellow feels a presence behind him!

This garden is in front of my 'no-good-for-nothing-pain-in-the-keister' Mulberry tree.  The tree bears fruit in early spring, and you can't work under it until they're all gone.  Fortunately, the plant life doesn't suffer from the squirrels and birds playing 'catch' with the fruit.  But the berries do leave a splotchy mess, and usually I can lightly spray and wash the stains away.

In the upper lefthand corner of my photo resides 'vinca major'-a periwinkle relative.  It grows EVERYWHERE!  And you can easily propagate it-it also climbs easily.  Karo built 2 ladders, one on either side of the tree for the 'vinca' to climb...and it did!  In the spring it will produce lavendar blooms, but only on the mature plant.  Any 'vinca' that you may transplant will not bloom until the following year.  It's a fun plant, that can be transplanted easily in most areas of the yard, and, or used in pots.

Isn't that a beautiful 'hosta'?  It kept coming back for about 4 years.  My mother sent me the roots from Kansas City, and it really took off-it got so big!  Behind the 'hosta' is, you'll never guess, 'gladiola'.  Not a very good spot for this plant because there was not enough sun to encourage blooms.  But it did make for interesting background foliage.  And there's a small clump of white 'impatiens' to the lower right.  

I prefer to plant my caladiums as bulbs.  I have bought them in pots before, but they don't last as long-they are usually already too leggy when you buy them and have a tendancy to fall over.  The only thing you can do then, is save the bulbs for next year.  AND-I remember reading that 'caladiums' and 'elephant ears' need to be in the ground after danger of frost, but by May 1st.  I have actually gone outside in the rain just to get them into the ground on May 1st!  Dedication, you say?  Sometimes we leave a few 'elephant ears' in the ground, because in Texas, the ground doesn't freeze too deep in the winter (most of the time).  And they can survive.  But 'caladiums' are not as hardy.  We try to dig up the bulbs-I sprinkle some peat moss on newspaper, wrap the bulbs up, and store them in paper sacks inside the house during the winter. 

On the other side of the 'hosta' are some other exciting plants which I will be showing later.  We really showed this tree up with the circular bed around it, and Karo used green, metal edging for definition.

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading today.

My previous post on this blog was lost in the shuffle of the "blogger dilemma" last week.  I have requested that blogger restore it, as they said they were restoring lost posts and comments, but, so far nothing!  So, I am in the process of re-writing, since only 2 paragraphs actually went to draft.  PHLUGF!!! 

And I want to welcome, and thank my two followers:
Susan from this n that
Nancy from Nancy's Arts, Crafts and Favorites

These two ladies are fine bloggers!  They share some of the greatest ideas, photos, and art around.  I am so grateful to have them as blogmates.  You can find their links on my sidebar bloglist. 

And I want to wish Laura at forestwalkart a speedy recovery from her surgery this week.  You can also find her blog on my sidebar.

Thank you Bonnie King Powers for reading my blogs and emailing me with your sweet and wonderful comments.  Bonnie and I met when we were four years old.  We grew up together in Kansas City and went thru all of our school years together.  We've only seen each other a few times at high school reunions, but recently have connected thru Facebook, and now, we stay in touch frequently.  It's really good to talk about the fun we had as kids.

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"My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made
while learning to see things from the plant's point of view."
~saying by H. Fred Ale

***

"I've been here before,
Tho I know not when.
And I hope I left my mark,
So I'll see you again."
~penned by Suzanne
05/20/11

6 comments:

  1. Hi Susan, those blooms on the caladiums are simply spectacular! I'm really impressed with the red veins on them.
    All of that area, with the hosta, vinca and the others, looks such a shady cool spot. So inviting in the heat.
    Thank you for your kind words Susan, I'm so appreciative to have you as a blogfriend too. I have a map of the world on the wall next to my computer and am just amazed at technology...
    This is a beautiful blog - I really enjoy all the details and snippets you give in your posts about your garden. Also, I'm so glad you've got it up and running despite all the hurdles Mr Blogger placed in front of you!!
    Cheerio from over in my part of the world, to yours! Susan xx

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  2. Just received some vinca...periwinkle...and hope it will grow here. I looked it up, and so the place in mind should be adequate.

    My brother in Georgetown had caladiums that were huge and grew without effort. So pretty, that picture you showed.

    Have a sweet weekend, Susan.

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  3. Hi Susan-guess what I just figured out! They just restored your comments from my first post on this blog-halleluyah! Maybe the 'lost' post will show up eventually!

    I started raising caladiums in the 1980's. The white ones are more fragile and do need some shade, and they love water. I've had the red ones too-they can take a little more heat.

    I did take your logo and placed it on my sidebar. It's such a great design inspired by you! Have a great autumn weekend!

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  4. Nancy-good afternoon. Yeah, the caladiums here really flourish. I had first seen them in a neighboring yard in Weatherford, TX. I would drive by there just to look at them. And finally started planting them myself.

    There are so many types of perriwinkle. In the beginning I got the regular bedding ones because they were cheap and the lady at that nursery said they probably wouldn't come back-but they did! And they can take the heat, except for the red ones. The variegated vinca is so nice. I only bought 2 plants in the 1990's and still have them. I have even given them away to my friends! You should do okay with the vinca. Mine dies back in winter, and here it comes again.

    I'm so glad you visited Nancy! I hope you and your family are doing well. Have a wonderfull weekend.

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  5. OH Susan!! where have a been? where's my head? up my....??? nevermind!!

    you started this back in April sometime...why haven't i seen it before?
    guess i've just been REALLY out of sorts...
    BUT i'm trying to get back in...on... :)

    anyway...gotta say...i LOVE your gardens! all those beautiful flowers...blooming...WOW!!
    i don't have any caladiums right now...used to...but then i moved and never got new ones. i've always liked them alot...the colors...and texture of their leaves...the way you can see all the veins...THANKS for reminding me how much i miss seeing them in the yard! :)

    OH yeah...and thanks for the mention...yeah, me and my lip...among all the OTHER stuff going on...i'm still hanging...in there!

    have a great weekend...happy friday...and a happy & safe memorial day! xxxooo :]laura

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  6. Hi Laura-Well, you're a sight for sore eyes! So glad you're wandering again. Hope your lip is healing ok...otherwise, we'll have to organize an Angelina Jolie look-alike contest for you.

    Yes, caladiums are a really cool plant/flower. And they're something I can grow painlessly. Thank you for stopping by-blogger has been acting up as you know, and lost a whole post of mine. Unfortunately, I only have a couple of paragraphs in draft, so I'll have to rewrite. I guess they chose not to restore it for me.

    And I'll be watching for some new critters on your blog. Have a restful weekend!

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