The past two years, have seen rainstorms that were real gully washers at my house in West Georgia. Consequently, my dry creek area with daylilies saw the rocks moving downhill. But the water movement opened the door for one of the most enjoyable gardening projects in years.

The storms created a winding path for water to relocate to the street. As it winds downward, it goes past azaleas, hydrangeas and bush type conifers as well as native pines and junipers. As it carved its way, loamy topsoil was moved left or right creating perfect beds for planting. These were like alluvial flood plains in miniature.

The Garden Guy really had a heart for this. To be more exact, I had a lot of hearts thanks to Heart to Heart caladiums. These bulbs were a late acquisition. I chose to plant each one in a leftover quart pot I had in the storeroom.

My thought was that this would allow me to place a growing plant in the exact spot I wanted. I admit sometimes when I plant bulbs directly in the soil I can get a little haphazard. Using a Twist 'n Plant auger on a cordless drill makes planting quart containers just as fast and easy as planting jumbo bulbs.

In each miniature flood plain, I planted a dozen caladiums of all the same variety to give a mass planting look. In one area I did let Heart to Heart Rose Glow and Heart to Heart Radiance have a slight merge or overlap.

Along this "river of caladiums" I have three gold chamaecyparis or false cypress and three golden needled Fluffy arborvitae. The golden chartreuse of the conifers really contrasts with the colorful leaves of the Heart to Heart caladiums.

Heart to Heart Raspberry Moon caladium is a three-time Top Performer award winner at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. It is a part shade to shade selection that helps echo the chartreuse with its own contribution of soft lime and yet adds contrast too with the raspberry splotches.

Heart to Heart Rose Glow caladium is a sun or shade selection and prolific in the quantity of leaves produced. Rose Glow is a most appropriate name in that it does seem to glow, even more so with chartreuse partners in proximity.

Before I knew I was going to have a miniature waterflow, I had planted a few informal sweeps of Crested Surf Japanese painted ferns. These ferns are gorgeous with gray green to silver fronds and burgundy stems. I gave them Heart to Heart Splash of Wine caladiums as partners and feel like I may have hit a winner.

The one thing I wasn’t counting on in the project was falling head over heels for Heart to Heart Radiance caladium. This variety too is a multi-year award winner at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

The Heart to Heart Radiance caladium leaves are large and electrifying in color. They have some hot pink, white, green and sizzling red veins. The chartreuse conifers create a party atmosphere, and adding the best summer/fall bloom of azaleas was like an October garden fest.

From the first leaf to the first frost, Heart to Heart caladiums are so beautiful, easy and trouble-free. When I planted my bulbs in containers, a Heart to Heart Radiance bulb got away from me. I didn’t know I had lost one. A couple of weeks later it came up in the bucket. I took the little soil-less plant to the backyard and planted it in a glazed AquaPot by a Hollywood Hibiscus VIP.

When I posted the photo on my Facebook page, I quickly got a complaint that you could not do that as the hibiscus is a sun plant and the caladium a low-light plant. So, a reminder to read your varietal tags as some Heart to Heart caladiums can also grow in the sun.

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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)

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