Saturday, March 11, 2017

Summer favorites ~ Dahlias

Have I ever mentioned that I like dahlias? 
Well I really, really, like them.


They are gorgeous and come in so many colors and forms. I bought the ones you see blooming below last summer, at one of my favorite garden shops in Carmel, California while on a visit to my sister a few years ago. They are very generous with their charming puffs of pink and yellow flowers. The only caveat - as with all dahlias, early staking, they are very brittle and there is nothing more difficult than trying to tie back up a large dahlia that has collapsed.


Every year I plant a few more tubers, most come back every year but I usually loose a few. So this year when they were available I indulged myself.
Most of them I purchased from Home Depot but I also sent away for some rarer types, such as Cafe au lait, which is an indescribable pink/buff/white color.  

Since I favor pinks in the garden, they are pretty much all shades of pink, purple, a striking maroon and a couple of yellows.


Not only are dahlias nice in the garden but they also make splendid bouquets. In fact some of the flowers are so large that they make a bouquet in themselves.

I managed to get all of these planted last week. Now all I have to do is wait for them to sprout and  not forget to stake them early. I hope that here at Rose Arbors this will be the best summer for Dahlias ever!


Life is always better with a garden.

Thank you for visiting.

8 comments:

  1. For some reason I do not have any luck with them. However, my Aunt Nell won blue ribbons in the State Fair in Virginia. Her's were beautiful. I am hoping that our garden will fair better than last year. It was the worse ever for me. Lost some rose bushes and lot of my plants.

    Your garden is always so beautiful and I can tell that you are truly a great gardener.

    I hope this HOT weather doesn't stay this way all through summer.

    Happy gardening - yours are stunning.

    Mary

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    1. I too am hoping that we will have a more temperate summer and before that some more rain. With all of the heat this week I had to turn on the sprinklers, I hated doing it but I have planted lots of new things that are too small to get by without water. Still, everything looks so much better this year.

      Have a great week.

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  2. Dahlias are on my list of 'must haves' for this summer. I have a large purple dahlia in the front bed that must be moved to make room for a pink specimen. Like you, I favour pink.

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    1. Ah...another lover of pink. You know it is funny, I never, ever wear pink but I am very fond of it both in interior decorating and in the garden. I hope that you find just the right pink dahlia...the purple ones are lovely too and I think extremely hardy. Check out Cafe au lait...I think you will love it.

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  3. You're making me wish for Summer and I'm not usually a Summer person!

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  4. I am not a summer person either...it just gets to darn hot here. But this is a wonderful time of year for us, especially this year because we finally got some rain.

    Have a great day.

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  5. So beautiful, Adrienne. You have such a knack with your garden. Everything is always so pretty and with more water this year, I can't wait to see later in the summer..Happy Weekend..Judy

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  6. Yes! The rain has made a very big difference - I hope we get a bit more before the long, hot, summer sets in. At least this summer I won't have to feel quite so guilty when I have to irrigate.

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