Truly. I've paid heed to all your advice, and now the blooms are beginning. The Adora is taking my breath away, and E.Pink is loaded with more to come.
It's Happening!
And the lovely Adora ---
Beautiful Polly, don't you just love Persian shield as a underplant.
Polly, Very pretty brugs and underplantings are great.
I just love all your color in that photo! So pretty!
Wonderful photos, Polly, your colors are just lovely!!!
Very pretty, Polly.
Nice color combination in your photos pollygardening. And I love strobilanthes.
That first picture is really pretty. I have developed a love for caladiums and have always loved Persian Shield. Here is a picture of some of my caladiums. Too much shade I think. They aren't growing fast at all.
Shirley, I love caladiums too and next year, I'll use even more.
I also love the Persian Shield - I've never heard of it, is it a nursery plant??? I would love some in our fountain area...
Pretty Sherry. Mine would look better if I would yank out the balsam that came up volunteer in the bed.
Some how, I forgot about caladiums and I'm glad I rediscovered them!! They add super color while I wait on my brugs to bloom, if only the caladiums were fragrant...
Very nice. What is the one left front? I like it. Well, I have to go get the hose and start in. Have a good day.
Your Caladiums are looking great!
I absolutely love caladiums and shade beds. I just don't have much shade in my yard. I would love to have a bed with ferns, caladiums, hostas and other shade plants.
The Brugs shaded the bulbs well enough to protect them from the direct sun. Actually, I planned my pots last April before my Brugs came, and planted the Caladiums then. I used a mixture of 1/2 potting soil and 1/2 compost from my heap, and planted not only the Caladiums, but JApanese Iris, which bloomed the lst of June under my then very modest Brugs. I have lavender petunias and purple verbena under Rosamond, and green potato vine (now all over my patio) uner E.T, which is now starting to bud.V.Orange has matching Bells A Million, a Petunia, under it; I'll show you a picture when the blooms open in a day or two.
With Kaufmann's fertilizer and Brugie's recommended Systemic Rose granules, all are thriving. (I use 1 1/2 TBL of the rose granule in each well watered pot, and scratch in and water ).every MO.
We have BAD bugs; I am now alternating Sevin and Orthene; we have slugs, too, but I am a bit chintsy about taking out bowls of Corona! Pots and slugs go together.
Another observation: The plants in the ground, whether potted or not, have verdant green foliage, and look very healthy, but seem to be slower budding. I think the patio pots get more stressed as the demand for water is greater.
I am so pleased to receive nice comments from my mentors!
Pollygardening
Thanks all re the caladiums, you should see them now, they are double that size. FYI, caladiums are not as 'allergic' to the sun as they used to be. The larger ones are Carolyn Whorton and it is suppled to be able to take lots of sun and it can and does here, afternoon sun. The white ones are a name I've forgotten, with Jr on the end and we call it Junior. It was supposed to be a tight leafed dwarf, that could take little or no sun. Well, it's not tight leafed or a dwarf here (but it did start out that way) and every area I have them planted is in the sun, mid day and afternoon sun. The speckled, little one, is Miss Muffett - it's the grands fav and I love it too. It is truly a tight leafed dwarf, but it can also take hours of hot summer sun, without sunburn. Would be caladium bulbs be suitable for the plant swap???? I hope to have Dutch Iris bulbs too.
I'm sorry, I hit send too soon. What gets me about the brugs and the caladiums is that, here, this year, my caladiums can take almost full sun and my brugs simply cannot do that. Wonder what that's all about??? However, my brug that wintered out side, CAN take almost full sun, almost all day, course it's almost 12 feet high, whew!!
I sure wish I could grow caladiums here. Just not hot enough. Yours are just lovely!
Thought I would change the subject -- here is one of my 6 week old Bichon Frise puppies -- a June 14 B'DAy present!
Here is her sister!
Oh, Polly, I LOVE your Bichons, they are darling, I have a pal that breeds them!! What are their names???? I just posted on another thread that my next litter of Goldens will be 'names of brugmansias' and I will, for sure, name one Rubirosa, I just love neat names with several syllables. What are the names of your babies????? Hey, they are really young, you have real babies there - good luck!!!
Oh gosh, they are so cute.
There are five in the litter; their Daddy was #no 1 in the country three years ago, and took Westminster as Best in Show; won over everyone by clapping his paws for the TV cameras.
I won't name them so soon; i'm currently calling the one in the closeup Sera, for Seranade.
Their mother is CH PT Breeze (my kennel name) Glory Be.
We had five inches of rain last night; much drying of doggie feet today!
Thanks for all your interest!
Gosh, Polly, nice front, nice stack!!! I'm excited for you and look forward to seeing your name and theirs in lights!!!!!
They really are cuties.
Thank you!
I take my joys in and out of the garden!
Polly: Your Brug and those gorgeous underplantings are absolutely beautiful! You definitely have a very artistic "eye" for plant combinations!!
Your Bichons are precious!
That first picture is gorgeous!
So cute!!!!! They look snugglely
Very pretty picture.
I'm so pleased with all your feedback. It makes a novice very proud!
My new camera is also a super toy, and the Brugs are cooperating,too. I am grateful for all the advice from my mentors who so generously share their knowledge and encouragement. Here is a shot of the beautiful Adora:
This V. Orange is open this morning -- here it was last evening.
Beautiful blooms Polly.
What is that cute underplanting in the last picture ?
I think it is calibrochia Scoot. I just love all your pics, Polly. Your yard must be just lovely!
But I esp. love your dogs. I have decided to get a Bichon as soon as my old cat leaves for heaven. It would be too mean to bring one in while he is here. I have never had a dog. I can't wait! I wish you lived closer to me, maybe I could buy one of yours. They look like they are being raised inside with love and look so happy.
Scoot, I know the underplanting, a miniature petunia, as Bells a Million; they seem to do better when grown from a small seedling. They come in gorgeous shades.
Kell, I am flattered that you would want one of my puppies; we do raise them with lots of TLC, and they are happy and confident. Where you live is a mystery, but I'm sure there are reputable breeders close by!
The daily tropical thunderstorms have been hard on my Brugs, but Rosamond has six spectacular blooms, and E.P and V. Orange are still at it.
I'll try to get a picture before they fade.
Your pictures are beautiful! I needed a while to find out, what you all were talking about Caladiums lol! These are houseplants here and have much smaller leaves than yours.
My only pets are three cats. The dog died almost 11 years ago and I didnt want a dog anymore. I felt, that I was too old to go through all the caring for a puppy and later training again.
Monika, anyone who has the energy and fortitude to do the incredible work you do with your beautiful plants can't be TOO old!
A puppy is another big responsibility, and adopting a Bichon Frise is like taking on a child. They need a lot of maintenance, and with your obvious nurturing nature, I know yours would have to be kept just so.
We plant our Caladium rhizomes in MArch; I have to wrap mine in little wire cages to keep the squirrels and chipmunks from eating them. I forget about them for several months, and then they appear.Our summers are long, and they will last through Oct.