Garden photos & the dahlias I’m growing this year.
Up until last summer, I avoided the really huge, dinner-plate dahlias.
I have enough garden-chores without making more work for myself by committing to the staking of non-essential plants… Plus, anything that cannot survive rain is a ridiculous garden-choice.
However, I am a ridiculous person so I do not know why I disavowed such a fundamental plant-match.
After the Philadelphia dahlia show at Longwood Gardens, I wondered – wait, why am I not growing dahlias as large as my head?
So, now I am.
(Also, revisiting that post reminds me that I intended to make some fiber-optic garden chandeliers. And a greenhouse. And a conservatory. And an orangerie. So, Paul should get excited for that.)
Last year I sold you on Benary giant zinnia, and I still stand by that recommendation… Zinnia will give you much quicker gratification than dahlias, (especially if you start your seeds inside,) and the Zinnia will give you a great show all summer, but by September it will be fading.
The dahlia is a longer wait… But what you trade for flowers at the beginning of the season, they make up to you later… Plenty of my dahlias will keep going until I cut them down.
Vassio Meggos is my favorite for sheer ridiculousness. Randi Dawn is my favorite for color/shape… I am not recommending any of these because of their superior flower-ness; my only criteria is personal preference for color/size, and I tend to prefer the waterlily dahlias.
I generally do not bother disbudding… I might make the effort initially, but as summer progresses there are just too many garden tasks and I stop caring. (Although with the Vasio Meggos, or other huge ones, you are going to have a real mess on your hands if you don’t monitor it well.) So my flowers are not as large as they could be… if you want bigger flowers, take off the side buds and leave the center one.
If you know nothing about growing dahlias, the tubers look kind of like potatoes. You bury them extra deep, and depending on what part of the country you are in, you are supposed to dig them up in the fall… I don’t bother with that and I would say I get about a 60% return rate. (If you live somewhere that gets truly cold, that’s not going to be an option for you.)
This year our area had extra winter, and I will be surprised if I get many tubers that survive so I ordered more than I normally would.
I like these plant labels for when you are trying new varieties— so that you know what you are looking at instead of guessing or making diagrams. (Although, when I went to link to them, I saw another option that has a copper label. And I was like– ooooo, pretty… so we will see if I can resist buying those.)
Once you see your first true leaves, you are going to want to pinch the plant back. Here is my way-too-detailed tutorial from last year about pinching plants and rooting the cuttings.
Pinching is going to give you a much bushier plant, and you can turn the cuttings into more plants. I do not bother with the rooting hormone— it’s just a marketing ploy by chemical companies. Keep your cuttings warm and wet and they will root just fine. (Here is an old post where you can see dahlia cuttings, second photo down, and also Elvis basking in her tanning salon.)
Above is my Dahlia order for this year.
Top row: midnight moon, daydreamer, brushstroke, blah blah blah
Second row: randi dawn, sheer heaven, cameo peach, Nicholas
Third row: vassio meggos, bluetiful, innocence, purplicious
Here is an index of all my other garden posts… if you haven’t read the one where I give away a GIANT free rock on Craigslist, it’s worth just looking at the pictures.
April 8, 2014 @ 10:16 am
Oh boy! The vassio reminds me of a jellyfish, so I can not have it, but the sheer heaven? I want THOUSANDS!
How dare they not respond to your request for giveaway goodness? I wonder if they will once they get thousands of hits from your blog today? I think it’s gross when companies ignore people. On the other hand, I’ve had all variety off strange offers regarding my little blog with four readers and have ignored most of them. I’m a hypocrite, yes.
I abhor gardening, or pretty much any activity I have to go outside to do. I’m blaming you in advance for the parts of my summer I do not like. I hope the kids feel like planting these dahlias!
April 8, 2014 @ 10:17 am
Very inspiring, but ok, can I confess that I haven’t yet cleaned up the garden from last fall?
Your dahlia choices are gorgeous.
April 8, 2014 @ 10:18 am
We how are now feeling guilty salute you! Everything you do yet you still find time to calculate staging for your plants so you have blooms all year. And plant, and weed (or is that Paul’s job?) and then write about it all. You must have a time machine to fit it all in. Please let me know where I can get one.
April 8, 2014 @ 10:19 am
*who* not how
April 8, 2014 @ 10:28 am
Those are insanely beautiful. I need to trick my husband into planting and maintaining a giant beautiful garden.
Or perhaps have a dalliance with someone that will maintain my garden. (TWSS)
April 8, 2014 @ 10:43 am
Thanks for this update on flower gardening-I’m too tired to try planting the seeds I bought so I’m going to take my chances with just putting them into my giant container pots that are filled with the fertilizing potting soil and hope for the best. I live in Virginia so I might get lucky-We have shrink swell clay soil so no planting in the ground. Do you have a problem with your bulbs, tubers being devoured by various critters? How do you prevent this? Great post, who doesn’t love beautiful flowers?
April 8, 2014 @ 10:52 am
Your dahlias are going to be beautiful! I love dahlias. I actually just planted a couple of my own last weekend. They are a beautiful ruby red color. I can’t wait for them to get big and glorious!
April 8, 2014 @ 10:59 am
Is there really a Dahlia called “blah blah blah”? I don’t/can’t garden, but it would be worth trying if I could say, “Look! My blah blah blahs are blooming!” Or, more likely for me, “Damn. I killed the blah blah blahs.”
April 9, 2014 @ 11:02 pm
Yep, that caught my eye, too. I would totally grown those just for the name.
April 8, 2014 @ 10:59 am
Thanks! I just went to Swan Island and bought some Dahlia’s. I’ve admired them in a friend’s garden, and thought about planting some in my own beds. Second to tree peonies, they are so impressive! Thanks for sharing…BTW, I let them know you sent me at Swan Island!! They should know how awesome you are.
April 8, 2014 @ 11:04 am
I was just wondering this morning where you have been! Now I know… playing in dirt. Love your dahlias and one of these days when I don’t have a dog to trample them, I may step out and actually plant some. Now isn’t a good time for me as I am currently in the process of killing what was once a beautiful Meyer Lemon Tree. It didn’t say on the little tag that they take the better part of nine months to ripen!
After twenty years of digging, planting, pruning, weeding, cutting back, and cutting down, I confess to dreading the thought of cutting grass again, much less putting in flowers. I’m not married to a “Paul”; my husband caught on pretty early on that while I was content to work in the yard until the job was finished, which could mean after midnight, that meant he was expected to as well. Mutiny right off the bat. So I’d be out there digging and potting in the moonlight (and flood light) by myself into the wee hours of the morning, until I got tired of it. The work:beauty ratio wasn’t high enough. I don’t have the greenest of thumbs. Nope, I don’t have a garden either. Why feed the rabbits and squirrels?
So please continue to post photos of your luscious flowers; I will love them from afar.
April 9, 2014 @ 11:42 pm
Why not feed the rabbits and squirrels? They are lovely and compassion toward living beings is a good thing. And maybe someone in turn will feed you one day if you need it.
April 8, 2014 @ 11:11 am
Hi love what you have done with house. We also have a 1909 Victorian Thats being renovated room by room (I feel your pain ) right now we’re looking to paint the outside siding and we really like the blue color you have on your home. Is there any you can please take a picture of the color code from can and email it to me [email protected] Thank you so much.
April 8, 2014 @ 11:48 am
I added that to my “to do” list and FORGOT that you emailed me! SORRY!!! It’s Cool Sky, by Behr (home depot). If you still need a can-pic, let me know and I’ll see if I can find the container.
April 8, 2014 @ 3:39 pm
I’ll pick up a sample from HD. Thank you for sharing and I look forward to more pics for more great ideas 🙂
April 8, 2014 @ 11:12 am
I am new to your blog and I LOVE it! Those Dahlias are beautiful. You’ve almost made me want to grow some.
Please do two things for your fans, OK for this new fan – put the dates of the blogs at the top under the title, and tell us where you live. I do not mean specifically where you live. I do not want people to come steal any of those Dahlias. I just want to know generally where you garden, i.e., North East West Virginia, or something.
April 8, 2014 @ 11:50 am
Outside Philadelphia (a better gardener would know my exact zone).
Dates are at bottom of posts (a better tech-person could move them.)
xoxo
April 8, 2014 @ 11:43 am
So, where do we stand with the kitchen? Did I miss some posts?
April 8, 2014 @ 12:07 pm
I’m about to jump on the dahlia train. I got one as a gift last year and it did great as I neglected it. It’s coming back beautifully this year as I continue to neglect it so I’m on board!
This is the strategy I tried with tulips when I just randomly bought bags of bulbs on sale, put them in the ground when everyone else’s was blooming (which is the wrong time to do it but that is when they inspire you) and this year they finally all started coming up and my yard may finally qualify as “riot” of color which sounds so romantic and awesome.
Do dahlia multiply like tulips and daffodils? I really like when plants plant themselves.
April 8, 2014 @ 12:20 pm
love your picks. I have two varieties of dahlias in my garden. im in atlanta and due to our harsh winter (for dow here) im not sure if they made it. last year i didnt stake them and that was a big mistake. ill try this year, but as you said there are so many other garden tasks.
April 8, 2014 @ 12:46 pm
I think I say this every year when you share your dahlias…I want to grow these, note to self: must order tubers next spring.
I love the Bluetiful and Midnight Moon. Is there really a dahlia called blah, blah, blah?!
I have the copper stakes and they are great, but I kind of like the stainless one…can you send me the link?
You grow the most amazing flowers.
xo,
Karen
April 10, 2014 @ 8:51 am
They’ve held up pretty well, but the ones that I left out this winter (lazy) that sat under a foot of snow for months are not looking too good.
http://amzn.to/1iZIWU7
April 8, 2014 @ 1:05 pm
Gorgeous. I wanted the wonderful VEB enthusiasts to know that there is a lovely dahlia garden in Rockport Maine. It is a small local family business, but they do have a website and ship all over. Perhaps their stock, nurtured on the northeast coast, will be a good source for your loyal New England readers, and perhaps a little heartier (although they do recommend digging them up for the winter). The link is: http://endlesssummerflowerfarm.com/ . Happy colorful hugeness!
April 8, 2014 @ 1:07 pm
Of course, *hardier* , but so lovely that you have to think they have heart, also.
April 8, 2014 @ 8:46 pm
Just so I can have as many corrections as possible related to one inconsequential comment; the Endless Summer Flower Farm is actually in Camden, Maine. I was a mere visitor last summer. I was directed there after admiring fabulous dahlias on display at a local winery and asking where they came from. I wasn’t disappointed when I followed the lead.
April 9, 2014 @ 11:19 am
Hi PJ,
I am from New England and this would be a fun day trip for me come fall! Thanks for the temptation of a new place to order from 🙂
April 8, 2014 @ 1:10 pm
Victoria – love you love your blog please stop planting Dahlias and finish your kitchen (and let us know how the bed turned out)
Xxxooo you blog groupies
April 8, 2014 @ 1:43 pm
Gosh…… I don’t blame you at all for NOT tackling the kitchen anytime soon. Enormous disruption-no place to prepare food-Lots of loot needed for kitchens involving Lady’s who live in a Kingdom of mirrors and magic portals. Stick with the flowers and maybe a pretty luncheon spot outside the kitchen window that can be admired from the quite adequate kitchen. And lots of Dancing-anyone who possesses a Paul who can also Dance! should not be home ripping apart former owners creative kitchen attempt. Lots more fun and lots less dirt-also frustration-also endless decisions about tile and faucets………. yuck!!!!!-time for extensive procrastination!
April 10, 2014 @ 8:48 am
I love you.
That is all.
April 10, 2014 @ 4:15 pm
Beyond the all- I actually love you and Paul and Elvis-and I’ll wager that many of your fans feel the same. I can only equate this phenomenon to the pen pal exchanges back in the olden days. I imagine many of the writers asked themselves why? did I ever get involved in this activity- wasting my time- my patience, and requiring the necessity of feeble attempts @ a cheery exchange in few words or less-and then came the letter from one of your ancestors-bright,interesting,literate with an hilarious sense of humor and the reason for seeking out such a person/now blogger becomes abundantly clear. Priceless entertainment and for free. Where else can one take a few minutes/(reading all the great replies changes that to hours) and feel strangely happy for the remainder of the day. You are a modern day Dorothy Parker and much funnier than Erma Bombeck. Thanks