PINK-a-licious

To a self-confessed "girly-girl," pink really is a delicious color. And, the combination of pink and green is my all time favorite. When I see the two colors together, my heart goes pitter-patter and my soul sighs with satisfaction. While my living room is awash in pink floral and green foliage fabric, my garden is not. That revelation even surprises me, but the truth is that there are so many beautiful colors of flowers that I just "must have" (you understand that notion, don't you?) all of them in my garden. Nevertheless, during a recent stroll through my garden I was able to capture some of the "magic of pink" at work.

Moss Rose is a summer favorite, and this HOT pink color is a real standout! Everyday this drought-tolerant plant is covered with new blossoms...a great container plant for summer!

And, then there's the soft pink color of impatiens lounging in the shade. Lucky for them they get to live beneath the canopy of the Live oaks and out of the hot summer sun...we all know what happens to them in direct sunlight. ;-)

You might think this is a coleus leaf, but guess again. It's actually a begonia, and a very colorful one at that. I've never seen this plant bloom, and with foliage like this who cares about a bloom.

Ahhh, a dainty Lacecap hydrangea brings a smile to my face. You can tell by the pink color that my soil is on the alkaline side. How so? This plant with two personalities blooms blue in acid soil and pink in neutral to alkaline. But the mysterious part is that you can change the color to blue by adding lime or aluminum sulfate...I do believe azalea fertilizer will do the trick, too. I'll never understand how that works, but I find it utterly amazing.

The caladiums are popping up everywhere. Their large colorful leaves add a whole new dimension to the summer shade garden, and I truly believe that one can never plant too many caladiums. This soft pink variety (name unknown) is tucked between a spider plant...that by the way did not freeze...and some Peacock ginger.

This super-large leaf is a variety (name unknown) that is very unusual.

This caladium (name unknown) is basking in some dappled sunlight.

Oh, even a pink flower pot can be found in the garden. I have no idea where this ornately decorated pot came from...probably a purchase I couldn't resist.

Can you guess what this plant is? Generally, it's well known for it's beautiful tropical flowers. Do you recognize it? Give up? Okay...it's a hibiscus. A very pretty variegated variety whose leaves outperform its small and less than spectacular flower.

I'm sorry I have forgotten the name of this lovely succulent that sports a pink stem and pink edging on its creamy green and white leaves. It's really pretty!

I can't forget about the roses. If given a choice, I would prefer a gift of pink roses over red anyday. This is Belinda's Dream and it reminds me of all the beautiful china tea cups decorated with soft pink roses. To be so pretty and have a wonderful scent is the sign of one great flower.

A stem of pink and white gladiolas in the summer garden is a real treat. When half the flowers are open I cut the stem and place it in a vase so I can enjoy it indoors. They last a long time and remind me of orchid flowers. Looks like the Love bug couple clinging to the petal loves this flower, too.

Here is a Double pink Knock-out rose looking real pretty tucked between the Mexican petunia 'Purple showers' and white yarrow. A great color and texture combo.

And, last but not least, I found this delicate-looking cluster of pink angel wing begonia blossoms. So sweet!

I've really worked up a thirst walking around the garden in search of "pinkalicious" flowers, so I think I'll  sit for a spell and have a cold glass of pink lemonade. Then I'm going to head on over to How Sweet the Sound (where pink is not just a color, but an attitude) for Pink Saturdays to see the pink posts by other bloggers who also love pink!