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"Possibility and promise greet me each day as I walk out into my garden. My vigor is renewed when I breathe in the earthiness and feel the dirt between my fingers. My garden is a peaceful spot to refresh my soul." Meems






Welcome to my Central Florida Garden Blog where we garden combining Florida natives, Florida-Friendly plants, and tropicals.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

The Light Shines Through


How interesting to catch the soft light first thing in the morning shining through the caladiums causing all the pinks, greens, magentas, and reds to radiate and glow. It's so fun to see our plant life from a different angle. The veins and spots and mottled colors typically seen from the topside come alive in a brand new way from the underside.

Towering high above some of the smaller Miss Muffett variety the Carolyn Wharton grows 18 to 30" in height.

The red of the Brandywine is on fire in the brilliance of the light.
Hope every gardener (and reader) is enjoying your weekend.
Meems

19 comments:

  1. Meems, thanks so much for our delightful comments on my blog. I love caladiums! I found some bulbs on sale early mid season and put thrm into containers with other plants, then promptly forgot about them. When they showed up I was pleasantly surprised. We used to go to a Caladium farm near Lake Placid when we went to Florida, and I always brought bulbs back. Your are such pretty colors. Each one I see I think that's my favorite then I'll see another and no that's my fave. Oh well, you get the picture...

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  2. Lovely photos, Meems. We lived in Lake Placid for about 8 years after my husband graduated from college.

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  3. Beautiful caladiums Meems. I have quite a few but would like to get one of each color. I think they are so vibrant & will go with almost any other flower. What is the name of the one to the right in the second pic?
    Your garden is so lovely. I am envious of it.

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  4. Sorry it's the one to the right of the Brandywine in the 3rd pic.

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  5. Love all the vivid colors of the Caladiums in your garden. They are a wonderful shade plant.

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  6. love the interplay with the light and the colours of the leaves. i need to do more with these beauties.

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  7. I must admit that your caladiums have impressed me so much to the point that some day I will have to try these myself.

    BTW- Thanks for including in the "reader" category. I'll try and be a gardener "some day".

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  8. Beckie: you are most welcome... thanks for coming over for a visit. don't you just love it when caladiums remember what they are supposed to do even when we forget they are there! I am forever popping them in containers and forgetting until they show up. Lake Placid is the center for caladium bulbs and I've never actually gone there even though lots of my friends have and I've been invited... it's not turned out to be good timing for me yet. I order mine online from Caladium World near there. I'm with you on the favorites. I LOVE them all.

    Patricia: Thank you. You must know all about the caladium business in Lake Placid.

    Lola: Thank you! I'm pretty sure you're referring to the Miss Muffett -- it is lime green with magenta flecks and veins througout... I think if I have a favorite that one is it... I have them planted everywhere in mass.

    perennial gardener: Caladiums offer so much variety in color and height and leaf formation. They are a rugged choice for my summer garden offering much better performance in our humidity than so many flowering plants.

    nancy: definitely a view from another wonderful perspective.

    marmee: thank you... they are so easy here... I'm sure you could pop them in the ground around June and would love the colorful addition to your garden.

    mjm: that would be fun if you enjoyed them in your own garden someday. I recommend them for any gardener in this area... they are a MUST for summer.

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  9. Meems - thanks for the visit and taking time to leave comments much appreciated.
    These shots are lovely - I do like the interplay of light, leaves and a different perspective.
    Regards
    Karen
    An Artist's Garden

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  10. Taking photos of the undersides of foliage sounds like a good enough reason for me to go lie down in the garden.

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  11. Hi Meems.....the sunlight through the leaves is so pretty and the colours so intense....lovely photography.....

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  12. Meems, Beautiful caladiums...I think you've made them even more attractive. We often see the same white ones here...over and over again! I don't think I have ever known them by name! Just the bulbs (?) in a bin!

    Caladiums don't fit in with the clay and limestone native wilderness garden, but they are beautiful in your garden. Some plants just look exceptional backlit...and your caladiums do.

    Have you hardy begonia? It looks like angel wing begonia and has the sweetest little pink flower. They look wonderful with the sun shining through their leaves, too.

    Gail

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  13. The Light Shines Through...love your title. Love how the light DOES shine through the leaves. I especially like it when the light filters through the oak limbs and leaves. And gardener though I'm not, one of my favorite poems is about TREES! Does that count for something? :o) Hope your weekend is wonderful.

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  14. They are gorgeous illuminated by sunlight Meems. They simply glow. They remind me of stained glass windows.

    I'm rethinking overwintering mine. Last year's caladiums came back so small it didn't seem worth overwintering them again. But after a couple doses of organic fertilizer the new foliage on last year's caladiums is now emerging larger and more showy.

    I don't know the varieties - apparently 'caladium' is all us northerners are supposed to know about them, but I have one green and red one new this year that's much bigger than the others with leaves almost 20" long and over a foot wide. That one's my favorite (this week.)

    I'll definitely grab Miss Muffet next year before they all so quickly disappear again. I love her freckles.

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  15. I had no beds to plant caladiums this spring but have gotten to enjoy them in my three daughters yards. I love seeing how each of them deals with the same plant in such different ways - Thanks for sharing yours!

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  16. Thank you,Karen.I love the way the light can change in a moment and give the garden a new and different appearance.

    I've actually done that, wiseacre... WITH my camera in hand of course.

    Thank you, Cheryl, I especially like the intensity too.

    Gail, if you can believe it that is the way many of our plants are marked --not just caladiums. I buy the bulbs online which is the only reason I know the names and habits. Yes, I indeed have (hardy?) begonia -- in many places -- it grows to 5 and 6 feet tall if it is the begonia you are referring to... I have a post started with some photos of it in a container... should publish it sometime this week when I get around to finishing it. Then you can tell me if it is what you are asking about.

    serious/silly/me, I, too, am very fond of the way the light dances around on the underplantings coming through the oaks. It is not something easily captured in a photograph however... not by this amateur photographer anyway. It's one of those things better viewed in person. And yes, your trees poem counts for lots... maybe I can borrow it sometime to include?

    Linda, Now that you mention it --that first photo does look a lot like a glowing stained glass window. Your red and green caladium is quite large. I have a variety "June Bride" that has some leaves that large. Miss Muffet and Gingerland are very much alike... either one would suffice.

    Mary Beth,Nice that you get to enjoy gardening through your daughter's gardens. I'm thinking you've been very busy this summer!

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  17. Beautiful pictures Meems. I love to see the light through the caladiums. I had them in my window box last year. They did great. I will do it again next year. This year I tried other things and don't like how they look at all. Caladiums are best here because I can look through them from the kitchen. Like a stained glass window.

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  18. Lisa: I remember seeing a photo of your window box... you are right the caladiums looked perfect there... they are so great for popping into containers and then they make the most brilliant displays of color.

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  19. Just beautiful Meems! I love the different perspective...it gives such a different look to the leaves.

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Have a blessed day,
Meems


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