Wow! talk about a man with a plan and tenacity to make it real! I love your construction. I'm assuming azaleas and caladiums mean you are looking for fairly low growing color in shade or part shade. That's my challenge too. If you are willing to start from seed and make annuals you might look at torena. Some begonias are easy to propagate from one hanging basket and would look great here and there. They might be hardy for you...I don't know. They are pretty tough. I have one variety in my greenhouse where other plants froze all around it and it is still covered with its fuzzy green leaves that have burgundy brown undersides. It bloomed all summer for me haning from the branches of a big old pecan tree. Persian Shield is one of my favorites, but it can get about 2 ft tall. I did mine up and haul it in for winter. Inevitably my greenhouse gets too cold and I am transplanting what looks like dormant roots in spring. They come back beautifully. Soooo, it may be happy to live in your landscape year round. I love the lollipop or shrimp plants. Again I have to haul them in and out...but they come out looking like sticks and come back to life. Again, they aren't really low growing but they may have relatives that are. pink polka dot plant is in the same category for me...might be hardy for you. I plant anemones and pansies and tulips in the fall where I had caladiums in summer. They need sun but I have sun until the trees leaf out. Don't forget amaryllis! They aren't just for Christmas anymore and they make a great show in spring while the soil warms for the caladiums. Certain daffodils and crocus return for me too. ranunculus are tubers and you can lift them when they are done blooming, allow them to dry and replant. Same with anemones. Some return on their own if unlike me you aren't always digging. I plant Sun coleus in part sun. It stays smaller an less color, but they root easily and one plant makes many if you're willing to take the time. I also plant pentas in several hours of sun. of course there is turk's cap, a returning staple for me is salvia black and blue and argentine skies. (I want to say that are gargantua...or something like that). Yes, you get more flowers in more sun but they are lovely with the tall red turks cap behind them and yellow lollipops in front. All this for a few hours of sun. what else...purple peppers are less purple in less sun but are surprisingly interesting with black to red ornamental peppers. Easy to save seeds or allow to reseed. Again a little sun goes a long way. rambling on as usual. If you've never seen Persian Shield search for it online. It loves the shade. will you promise you will keep posting pictures as your passion evolves???? Oh check out the Texas Garden forum if you haven't already.

My Caladiums send up a flower spike frequently and I cut them off as soon as I am sure thats what it is. It adds nothing to the beauty of the plant and I don't want to waste the plants energy. Al

Keep them evenly moist, which is just a little wetter than damp. They don't mind wet feet, as long as there is some air in the soil. Mulch if you wish. A case can usually be made for not mulching unless it's a necessity to get you from opportunity to opportunity when it comes to watering, but with this plant's tolerance for wet feet, it doesn't matter. Al

There could be several reasons. One is the plants are likely tissue cultured and may have yet to outgrow all the chemicals used in the "stew" they were created in. Although the inflorescences look good they may still be malformed due to the process of tissue culture. Eventually they should out grow this. A possible solution is to buy tubers from another grower that has grown naturally in the ground. Caladiums are like Philodendron in they are unisexual and have imperfect flowers containing only one sex. The female flowers develop first but they are hidden inside the "globe" at the base of the inflorescence. On the first day the inflorescence opens the female flowers develop hidden inside this female floral chamber. These are fertile for only a single day. The next day the male flowers develop on the upper portion of the spadix and should produce pollen, which appears like a fluffy "fungus". In between the two, and still inside the female floral chamber can be found the sterile male flowers that produce the pheromones used to attract natural insect pollinators. The female flowers are receptive for a short period of time and the male flowers produce pollen for a limited period of time before the inflorescence collapses. If the female flowers are pollinated the female floral chamber will remain on the peduncle that supports the inflorescence and the berries and seeds will develop inside. In order to pollinate this species you must first collect the pollen once it appears and unless you have many inflorescences still developing and can use it right away put it into a sealed vial that also has desiccant in it to prevent the pollen from being destroyed by moisture. When you realize a new inflorescence is beginning to open mix the pollen with sterile water to create a thick mixture known as a slurry. Use an eyedropper to drip it into the female floral chamber. Before doing so place a piece of tape over the overlapping edges of the chamber to prevent it from dripping out too quickly. After about 15 minutes remove the tape and if you are lucky the female flowers may have been pollinated. My friend Julius Boos wrote a great article a few years ago explaining how both bisexual and unisexual inflorescences develop. You may want to read his article, which is illustrated before attempting to pollinate again. If there is simply no pollen being developed there is likely a reason that is causing this natural part of aroid reproduction to not occur. Without seeing the plants that may be difficult to determine but aroid pollination expert LariAnn Garner who often frequents this site may have a better answer. The link below is where you can read Julius article. Steve Here is a link that might be useful: Aroid pollination