I owe the dahlias in my vase this week an apology. Firstly, I have no idea where they came from, and secondly, while I quite like dahlias, they are not at the top of my plant list. The plants first appeared last year. I can remember planting the pot up with bulbs (which have never flowered - Aldi bulbs - and I do know the difference between a bulb and a tuber!) but up popped several dahlia plants. They flowered rather poorly, which is one reason why I banished them to a corner of the garden. Sort of out of sight, out of mind. However, this year they have been flowering over the past few weeks, but even so I have more or less ignored them.
I admire dahlias with their rich and beautiful colours, but otherwise I wouldn't choose to grow them. The only dahlia I have ever, knowingly, bought is Bishop of Llandaff, and that was years ago. So how I come to have these two, one apricot coloured dinner plate, and the other pinky yellow confection, is beyond me! Maybe some mischievous garden elves crept in while my back was turned! Anyway, there they are, doing their thing with vim and vigour. Guilt has crept in, and I realise that I have neglected them shamelessly, so here they are in the limelight in my vase this week! There are also a few stems of nepeta and some heather, which I picked in the hills the other day. Oh, and one rudbeckia, which offers a serious dose of sunshine.
I admire dahlias with their rich and beautiful colours, but otherwise I wouldn't choose to grow them. The only dahlia I have ever, knowingly, bought is Bishop of Llandaff, and that was years ago. So how I come to have these two, one apricot coloured dinner plate, and the other pinky yellow confection, is beyond me! Maybe some mischievous garden elves crept in while my back was turned! Anyway, there they are, doing their thing with vim and vigour. Guilt has crept in, and I realise that I have neglected them shamelessly, so here they are in the limelight in my vase this week! There are also a few stems of nepeta and some heather, which I picked in the hills the other day. Oh, and one rudbeckia, which offers a serious dose of sunshine.
Seeing my dahlias here makes me realise how glamorous they are! I think I will see them differently from now on. (Still not keen on the pom pom variety though, too uptight!).
Following on from chat about asters last Monday, I realise that the painting on the wall in our kitchen is a vase of asters, so, with a little bit of licence, I am including photos of a picture I really love, painted by Emma Dunbar in 1990. http://www.emmadunbar.co.uk/index.html
And last but not least, happily, the sweet peas are still smelling delicious!
I think with all the Dahlia forms around there will be one to please most...don't the pleats in the petals look splendid. I love the pink one which is paler in the middle....I feel you are starting to mellow towards this plant which add a little perzazz to Autumn.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am definitely warming to dahlias! I like the single ones best so might explore finding one or two for next year!! A
DeleteWhat a mystery - the 2 tone cactus dahlia looks especially pretty. Will you give them a bit more attention in future, or is that it for this year now?! Your sweet peas are lovely, and I am pleased to sat=y I have some later sown ones still flowering which I have learned from as I have never had sweet peas inSelate August or September before. The painting, though, is really really pretty - do you know the artist, and is it one you bought yourselves?
ReplyDeleteYes, I will try and look after them although draw the line at storing tubers! I suspect that is why I have not explored them much in the past! Can't really be bothered with all that stuff, but they should be fine as long as we don't have too bad a winter. I will wrap the pot with some garden grade bubble wrap - it's the least I can do after their wonderful show this year! Glad you like the painting. We have two of Emma Dunbar's paintings. I will wheel the other one out next spring when the daffodils are out! A little clue there! We don't know the artists and looking at her website now, her style has changed quite a bit! A
DeleteSweet peas in September would be impossible to even imagine here, Amanda! I used to roll my eyes at dahlias too. They were impossible to grow in the main borders of my garden but, when I started my cutting garden (which is watered relatively lavishly by comparison to the rest of my garden), dahlias were a revelation - they bloom well in late summer here, unlike virtually anything other than zinnias. I like the large-flowered, splashy varieties. Your pink and cream colored cactus type is right up my alley.
ReplyDeleteHooray! You've convinced me to stick with them! I must admit I am very taken with the big apricot one! She's quite a glamorous girl I think! It's certainly to have something showy for this time of the year because much of my gardening is in pots and they are all beginning to look tired now, at the end of a long hot summer (hot for Scotland anyway!!). A
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