Other than the edible garden the front southern-most half of the front lawn qualifies as the sunniest location in my garden. West-facing it receives a good portion of mid-afternoon sun although my neighbor's large oak trees do filter the light in the latest part of the day.
Caladiums are commonly known to perform best in shade and partial sun situations.
Good news for sunny gardens.
Recent breeding by Dr. Bob Hartman of Classic Caladiums has introduced some fabulous new caladium hybrids that are sun tolerant.
***The photo above was taken randomly with my camera by my 12yo grandson. He loves to walk around my garden and see what he can see through the lens. I LOVED this photo of White Wonder! A boy after my heart!
'White Wonder' is a fancy leaf with a short to intermediate habit which makes it a nice fit for the front or middle of the border. In my front garden it is paired with foundational plants of white yarrow, bulbine, blue-eyed grass, and flax lily.
In keeping with the asymmetrical feel of the front lawn renovation I chose to 'clump' (5 or 7 bulbs) pockets of 'White Wonder' along the street side of my front garden.
'White Delight', 'White Marble', 'Mt. Everest', 'White Pearl', 'White Diamond', and 'White Star' are other white varieties that are also sun tolerant and offered through Classic Caladiums.
I like the size and shape of 'White Wonder'. The deep magenta center veining and deep green edging is a highlight for me as it adds a spark of color while blending easily with neighboring plants.
It's really nice to have more options with caladiums in the sunny parts of the garden!
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Disclosure ***Dr. Bob Hartman and Mike Woods of Classic Caladiums generously gave me (50) White Wonder bulbs during my tour (which you can read about here) of their facility in February. They did not require anything in return. I believe in what they are doing to improve the caladium industry and I LOVE caladiums so much I am honored if I have any small part in promoting the industry and specifically Classic Caladiums. It isn't too late to plant caladium bulbs. If you want to place an order Classic Caladiums still has a few specials being offered at great values and prices.
They are beauties. I like the punch of white highlighting the beds.
ReplyDeleteI think I love all your new caladiums. I love the groupings of White Wonder. They are spectacular!!
ReplyDeleteMeems ~ You have such a wonderful collection of caladiums. I love your grandson's photo, and I love the bit of crimson in these white sun loving caladiums.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend ~ FlowerLady
The white plays off the other colors so well, especially all of the shades of green around it. Job well done, grandson!
ReplyDeleteI like your placement of White Wonder in that front border. I notice your yarrow in front is a really nice touch. The yarrow you gave to me has increased exponentially and I can't wait until it cools down a bit to divide it and place it in some other spots.
ReplyDeleteAh, full sun caladiums you got my attention!
ReplyDeleteI need to note these sun-loving caladiums' names down. Thanks! I tucked in some bulbs into one of my partial sun flower beds, they are not doing very well. I think they still got too much sun than they can tolerate. Love how "White wonders" looks in your flowerbed, and your grandson took gorgeous picture!
ReplyDeleteHow nice to have some sun-loving caladiums and White Wonder is very pretty, and they look great tucked in next to the blue daze, flax lily and red pentas...very nice!
ReplyDeleteWhite caladiums remain my favorite. To me, white caladiums in front of green plants look so cool in our hot summer. Thanks for having info on ones I have not seen before.
ReplyDeleteJan
Always Growing
"Full Sun" got my attention. How wonderful. I like the curling leaves on it too. I just love learning about new plants. Thanks for this one.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, that's a beautiful flower garden. I love the green leaves.
ReplyDeleteCassy from Best Online Guitar Lessons
They're very pretty, Meems, and I like their shorter height. About now the Aarons are way too tall and flopping all over the place. I definitely like the White Wonders and how you have them placed.
ReplyDeleteWow, I don't even recognize your front beds anymore! They've truly grown up since last I saw them (doesn't take long in Florida, does it?)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the full-sun caladiums!
What awesome plants. I love how they contrast so nicely with the surrounding plants. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteHi Meems, i really envy your caladiums. We have them too but the old variants, yours are definitely beautiful. They are very expensive in the Caladium site. I've posted samples of mine in a collage form.
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for hanging out with me and enjoying these new varieties of sun tolerant Caladiums. It has been lots of fun this year trying out updated breeds and seeing how they do in my garden. I'm not giving these any extra irrigation and they seem to be holding up just fine which is a good thing since they don't like to dry out completely.
ReplyDeleteI will plant these again and find more places for them next year.