our new dahlia patch
August 23, 2021
Before summer slips away I thought I'd share one of our recent garden projects, our new dahlia bed. We have a patch of dirt in a mostly unvisited part of our side yard. It's usually out of sight out of mind with this dirt patch and over the years it had been an artichoke patch (never produced enough to keep) an herb garden (too far away from the kitchen door) and lastly a home for old roses. When we replaced an old rose, we relocated it here and let them live out the remainder of their lives in peace. But last winter when I was pouring through an online dahlia catalog an idea came to me to use this patch for something really fun. I asked my gardeners to dig out the old roses and prepare the soil, then my husband installed a simple low waste watering system and I ordered 25 tubers, plus dug up a dozen tubers from our flower border. I then got to planting and labeling and waited for that beautiful first bloom. It has been so fun to check it out each morning, cup of coffee in one hand and my flower shears in the other. Dahlia blooms have really given a boost to my flower arrangements this summer!
Dahlias bloom from mid summer through early fall, die back in winter and because they are tubers, and if your ground freezes, they must be dug up and safely stored. Our ground does not freeze and we can let the tubers sleep all winter long in the ground. Dahlias will continue to bloom throughout the fall and get bigger every year.
Floret Dahlias is the gold standard for purchasing dahlia bulbs here in the US. They sell out quickly, as do their seeds. There are gorgeous dahlia gardens around the world and this is the time to visit them. We have quite a famous dahlia garden in the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Buchart Gardens in Canada has a fabulous dahlia border that we visited a decade ago. I remember my husband having to drag me away.
I know this is a knitting blog and I promise I have some knitting posts to come. My garden seems to hijack my blog every summer and I hope you enjoy reading about my passion for gardening as much as I love sharing it. Until next time, take care my friends. xo Kristen
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21 Comments
Congratulations! Your dahlias are spectacular. Here in Montreal we have to dig up the tubers because the ground freezes and replant in the spring. Quite labor intensive !
ReplyDeleteOh yes! I think that would be quite a lot of work to dig them up every fall! But I bet they are beautiful in your part of the world.
DeleteWhat spectacular specimens!! They are truly amazing! I love reading about your garden. 🌺🌼
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. :)
DeleteYour dahlias are beautiful , congrats !!!!!
ReplyDeleteThese photos take my breath away.
ReplyDeleteCarole
Awww Carole. Thank you dear friend.
DeleteAbsolutely stunning! Thank you for sharing these photos, they really put a smile on my face!
ReplyDeleteCharlotte
Thank you Charlotte. I love hearing that!
DeleteAm in love with your exquisite dahlias. I used to grow them too. The digging them out became too cumbersome many moons ago in cold Rhode Island. Your Beauties have been inspiring me to perhaps grow some again. Right now I am combating turkeys, deer, squirrels, woodchucks, raccoons and other invaders. Thank you very much for sharing your bounty with all of us.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I think if I had to dig up dahlia tubers each year I would only have a few if any. It is a lot of work to deal with bulbs and tubers in cold climates. And your garden with its creatures sounds so bucolic, says me who only has to deal with birds and squirrels. Thank you for commenting Susan.
DeleteAm in love with your exquisite dahlias. I used to grow them too. The digging them out became too cumbersome many moons ago in cold Rhode Island. Your Beauties have been inspiring me to perhaps grow some again. Right now I am combating turkeys, deer, squirrels, woodchucks, raccoons and other invaders. Thank you very much for sharing your bounty with all of us.
ReplyDeleteYour garden posts are as welcome as your knitting ones. Like all of us, knitting is not all you do! Thanks for sharing your lovely garden -- the dahlias are spectacular!
ReplyDeleteAwww thank you so much Claire! I appreciate your comment.
DeleteI've always loved dahlias (along with peonies) but was often met with a blank stare when I mentioned it. So I am so glad to see such enthusiasm here. Along with such gorgeous photos.... To catch up a bit, I hope you can locate Dress Doctor. It is relatively short and fun. How Edith had to minimize Bette Davis' extra long neck (who knew!) and so on. Also, love the name Good Old Raglan. It somehow sets you on a path with your knitting that is relaxed and enjoyable. Chloe
ReplyDeleteMaybe dahlias are not all that popular because in so many parts of the country they must be dug up every fall and safely stored for the winter. That would dampen my enthusiasm for sure.
DeleteYeah, Good Old is just that, good!
And I'd always thought long necks were glamorous! Who knew they had to be hidden?
In case my description of Dress Doctor made it sound catty and mean, that is not the case. It was her job to make everybody seen through the camera lens to their best advantage, and to have their costume serve both the wearer and the story. The book is available on various secondhand book websites in case the libraries no longer have it. My library copy arrived with a rubber band holding it together. I thought it was kind of neat! Chloe
ReplyDeleteI plan a visit to the library tomorrow to see what they can do for me. I am so intrigued with this book. I love to read about old movie stars. One of my favorite books is an entertaining book written by Dorothy Rogers, entertainer extraordinaire and wife of Richard Rogers of Rogers and Hammerstein. Her style of writing, plus her etiquette and serving tips and recipes, is peppered with the famous folk of the 40s and 50s. It's terribly outdated and possibly offensive to some, but I love it enough to read it every 5 years or so.
DeleteProducing immaculately written papers is not a walk in the park. Assignment Help Companies Students have to juggle between many tasks at a time to keep ahead in their academic endeavors.
ReplyDeleteOh that sounds interesting. Probably New York has the only copies. I will check! Chloe
ReplyDeleteI found it! The library will notify me when it comes in next week for sure!
DeleteYou make my day when you make a comment!