At last, one of the recalcitrant dahlias deigned to make an appearance just as most of the rest are eyeing the exit. Admittedly, I acquired two tubers of Dahlia 'Fairway Spur' in a late season sale so I shouldn't blame the dahlia but rather myself for the delay. As it stands, three other dahlia tubers, all planted well before 'Fairway Spur', still haven't bloomed, although one of those at least has buds.
Oh well, best to celebrate what one has than mourn what one does not.
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The 'Fairway Spur' Dahlia flowers are large enough to eclipse the accent materials I selected. There are several stems of Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' tucked in there that even I missed when I took my photographs.
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This was intended as the back side of the arrangement but I like it better than the side I'd originally designated as the front, partly because this older bloom shows more color variation than the newer ones
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana, Zinnia elegans 'Queen Orange Lime', Z. e. 'Queen Red Lime', Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', and Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder'
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I hadn't planned to use Dahlia 'Catching Fire' again this week but the flowers were so heavy that one branch had toppled over. In addition, the resident raccoons had decided to dig up both the half-barrels in my front garden, including the one containing this dahlia, so I decided I'd best cut the flowers before they came back to do more damage.
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The arrangement is similar to others I created featuring this dahlia, except that I've added plumes of Pennisetum grass and 2 stems of Correa 'Ivory Bells', another Australian fuchsia that's just getting started with its seasonal bloom cycle. I included 2 barely open dahlia buds because one I cut last week surprised me by opening fully.
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Back view
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Ivory Bells', Helichrysum petiolare 'Petite Licorice' (a weed here), Dahlia 'Catching Fire', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum', and Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Deep Red'
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In response to earlier raccoon rampages on the three raised planters in
my cutting garden, I'd laid out empty plastic flats to cover the soil
where possible but I hadn't tried that with the barrels because the flats were too big.
Yesterday, deciding I had to try something to thwart the raccoons' latest grub-hunting expeditions, I cut three flats into smaller pieces and squeezed them into place between plants. I'm hoping that does
the job until the dahlias have finished blooming - or until I get fed up with their mildewed foliage and pull up the tubers to create space for my cool
season flower garden.
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This is the barrel that holds Dahlia 'Catching Fire' after I added pieces of the plastic flats, attaching lawn staples to make them harder to remove
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For more IAVOM creations, visit our muse, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All
material © 2012-2022
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Oh 'Fairway Spur' looks like a most attractive dahlia Kris. I think that I might have to put it on my possible ones for next year list 😂 I've been worried about my dahlias being damaged by heavy rain and wind whilst on the other side of the big pond you're thwarting racoons! I think that they sound a bigger pest than grey squirrels which at least despite their misdeeds leave dahlias well alone. Hope that your defences do the trick ✌🏻
ReplyDeleteWell, raccoons are a lot bigger than squirrels and I suspect they're more wily, although they may be alike with respect to their obsessive behavior. The raccoons won the first rounds on me at any rate. I don't think they've done any major digging in my raised planters, much less the barrels, in prior years but in future years I'm going to have to anticipate this behavior and take precautions when I plant.
DeleteI agree with Anna that our pests here are much less destructive than your raccoons might be - in my garden it would ony be slugs and snails that might be a problem in the very early days, although that hasn't happened this year. You are so good at matching complementary foliage with your blooms, Kris, as both vases today show. The red zinnia is a glorious shade and I think I will add that to my seed list, although I am not so sute about the Lime variations!
ReplyDeleteThe Zinnias in the 'Queen Lime' series haven't impressed me as much this year as in prior years, Cathy. I don't know if there were issues with the seeds I sowed, the weather, a combination of the two, or something else altogether but they've been disappointing. In contrast, those in the 'Benary's Giant' series are all winners.
Delete'Fairway Spur' was worth the wait, Kris, what a whopper! The way you have used those green-tinged zinnias cleverly mirrors the tones of your leucadendron and I love the use of the grass seeds in your second bunch. Hope your racoon deterrents work!
ReplyDeleteRaccoons are maniacs when they're focused on destruction in pursuit of some goal, Horticat, but they're also quite opportunistic. If they think they can get what they want easier somewhere else, they're likely to move along. At least I saw no evidence of new incursions overnight ;)
DeleteYour dahlia bouquets are lovely! Raccoons are jerks.
ReplyDeleteYes, raccoons are jerks. My strategy to protect the plants in the barrels worked - for one day. They made a mess of 2 of the 3 barrels again last night.
DeleteLove your fall vibe. I think I get to have Bromeliads and you get the Luecadendrons...love them and have never seen one here.
ReplyDeleteI'm greedy and want to grow everything, Amelia ;) Yes, your climate probably gets too much rain for Leucadendrons to be happy.
DeleteYour dahlias are lovely Kris, and I can quite understand the measures you are taking to protect them! Your raccoons must be just as bad as our mice, damaging roots and making holes everywhere. Really love the Pennisetum too.
ReplyDeleteAnother commentator recently described raccoons as cute and menacing at the same time, which is pretty much on point, Cathy. Unlike the smaller possums who generally dig little holes around plants, raccoons just pull them up and toss them out of the way. They've also been known to steal things like garden gloves, seashells and even our fountain's filter, apparently just for the heck of it.
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