I'd expected to have more dahlias in bloom by mid-August. As it stands, only two varieties have produced flowers fit for cutting so far but that's better than none! This is the latest season start date since I first started growing dahlias in 2018 but then our extended cool season pushed everything forward six or more weeks. I hope that means that the dahlia season will continue well into November but there's no guarantee that the weather will support that.
Dahlia 'Catching Fire' deserves its name as, once it got started, it's pumped out one flower after another.
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I sacrificed several buds to get 3 mature blooms to include in this arrangement
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Back view: I cut the last 2 remaining white Agapanthus to flesh out the arrangement. My garden is relatively short on white flowers at the moment.
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Top view: I used the red foliage of Leucadendron 'Chief' to echo the red color in the dahlias
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Clockwise from the upper left: noID Agapanthus, Dahlia 'Catching Fire', Angelonia 'Archangel White', 'Candy Mix' Zinnia elegans in shades of cream and white, and Leucadendron salignum 'Chief'
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I cut the first flower produced by Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda' for my second vase.
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Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda' is classified as a late bloomer, yet it seems at the head of the pack this year. In this case, I made do with a short stem to avoid sacrificing 2 fat side buds.
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Back view: I cut 3 of the last stems on the only foxglove I've yet to pull out of my cutting garden
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Cosmos bipinnatus, Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Purple', Polygala myrtifolia, Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda', and Zinnia elegans 'Benary Giant Purple'
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Although my August garden is lighter on flowers overall than I'd like, some flowers are working extra hard to take up the slack and I couldn't bring myself to ignore them so here's my third vase:
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Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' burst into bloom a few days ago and I used a range of pinky-peach zinnias to complement its flowers
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Back view
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', Cuphea 'Honeybells', Leucadendron 'Jester', peach-colored Zinnia elegans 'Candy Mix', Z. e. 'Lemon Peach', and 2 Z. e. 'Queen Lime Orange' at different stages of bloom
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Our marine layer has returned, although it usually clears out before 9am. It's nonetheless kept our temperatures between the upper 70s and low 80sF (25-27C) last week and the local forecast suggests we should get more of the same this week. Our humidity remains relatively high but, with temperatures still soaring elsewhere in the country, we're counting ourselves lucky.
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
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material © 2012-2023
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Seems like no matter where you are in the country plants are on a completely different schedule than before. Your Leucadendron foliage is such a great foil for so many kinds of flowers. Wish I could grow something similar. It always looks great in your bouquets. I saw Dahlia bouquets for sale at my farmer's market for the first time this year last Saturday.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I got by without Leucadendrons in my garden before we moved here, Linda. They're perfect for this climate and there's a lot of variety within the genus. Sadly, I suspect they'd need to be greenhouse plants in your climate/
DeleteAll 3 are stunning. I adore how you featured the dahlias in their own vase. The purply pink vase is my favorite!
ReplyDeleteThat may be my favorite this week too, Donna.
DeleteLots to enjoy in your vases this week, Kris, especially the white agapanthus in your first vase and those lovely bright pinks in the second vase, which is really pretty in itself
ReplyDeleteI'm really going to miss the Agapanthus, Cathy. There are a handful of blue-flowered stems left but the white ones are now gone.
DeleteThese all look great, Kris. Your zinnias are doing so well. Did you start from seed or plants, the stems look nice and long?The leucadendron sets off the dahlias spectacularly. Amelia
ReplyDeleteWhile I did buy some zinnia plugs, all those featured this week are varieties I grew from seed. I tried to be vigilant about pinching them back to encourage them to branch out this year.
DeleteSo glad you have dahlias at last! What a long wait for you, eh? All three arrangements came out beautifully, you really know how to match colors, Kris!
ReplyDeleteSo glad your temps have been favorable, sounds about perfect to me. Eliza
Dahlias always seem to take their time moving from bud-stage to bloom-stage but the wait this year has seemed interminable, Eliza. Maybe that's partly because the tubers were planted so late this year but I think my expectations were also raised by the fact that, unlike last year, they all germinated so quickly. I thought we were on a roll back in early June.
DeleteThe white Agapanthus is excellent with Catching Fire.
ReplyDeleteThe second vase is one of the sweetest I've seen in a while: not just for the vibrant blooms, but the adorable tea-pot: perfect.
Chavli
I can't remember if I've used that teapot this year, Chavli. It's one of my favorite "vases" but it works best with flowers that are squat yet full.
DeleteOh! I'll take that third vase please, it would look lovely on my dining table. I thought maybe today's IAVOM post would also hold lots of bloom photos for GBBD, I guess that means I have another post to look forward to... (btw, 108 here yesterday...)
ReplyDelete108F!!! That's awful, Loree. Our morning marine layer has saved us the worst of the heat, at least so far. It's very muggy, though, and there's even a 30% chance of a thunderstorm from a tropical system late Sunday night/early Monday morning.
DeleteYes, I'm planning a Wednesday Bloom Day post - it's in the works now.
I think that dahlias may be one of the few flowers that we have flowering at the same time 😂 Mine have taken a bit of a battering from all the rain and wind we've had. What a fine selection in your vases this week. I especially like your second vase - that's a most eye-catching zinnia.
ReplyDeleteThat 'Benary's Giant Purple' Zinnia is one of my must-have summer seeds, although I'm rather fond of those in the 'Queen' series too.
DeleteJust lovely. I was going to rave on the first arrangements, which are amazing, but then that last combo. The warm peach and golden tones...wow! They're all amazing arrangements, as always. :)
ReplyDeleteI love that Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', Beth. Sadly, the heat is quickly turning the peach-pink blooms a beige color. It's still attractive but not as fetching as it is at first flush. Fortunately, the bees and hummingbirds don't seem to care.
DeleteLovely vases Kris and I am especially taken by your zinnias this week, although the dahlias are lovely too. That last arrangement is gorgeous! Glad the dahlias are finally getting going. 😃
ReplyDeleteI'm glad too, Cathy!
DeleteVery pretty, especially the first. Beautiful red color in 'Chief', and 'Catching Fire' is a favorite of mine. Zinnias are making up for the Dahlia lateness this year.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the zinnia seeds were sown late, they seem to play catch-up better than the dahlias.
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