While several varieties of dahlias have yet to make an appearance, those that have shown up are producing more than I can cut in one sitting. I have three arrangements this week, all of which feature at least one dahlia.
Vase #1:
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I've grown very fond of Dahlia 'La Luna' with its creamy petals highlighted with pale yellow streaks. I planted the tuber last year and it did nothing. For some reason, I neglected to pull the tuber when I cleared the raised beds in my cutting garden last fall. To my surprise the tuber germinated this year and has gone on to bloom heavily.
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Back view: I'm less fond of the yellow dahlia that was supposed to be 'French Can Can'. My best guess is that it may be Dahlia 'Kelvin Floodlight'.
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Cosmos bipinnatus, Zinnia elegans 'Lemon Peach', Dahlia 'La Luna', Hymenocallis festalis 'Zwanenburg' (aka Peruvian daffodil), Leucadendron 'Jubilee Crown', and noID yellow Dahlia
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Vase #2:
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| Dahlia 'Labyrinth' was meant to have the starring role in this arrangement but Dahlia 'Summer's End' took center stage |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', Dahlia 'Summer's End', Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose', and Z. e. 'Queen Lime Orange' |
Vase #3:
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| I wasn't sure this arrangement featuring the prolific blooms of Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda' would amount to much but it may be my favorite this week |
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| Back view: The asters I diligently tore an entire bed apart to eliminate in the fall of 2021 are back! I pulled a dozen stems up from the roots and added the flowers to this arrangement to fill it out. |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda', Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Purple', Angelonia in mauve and white, and Symphyotrichum chilense |
Since last Thursday, our temperatures have been very pleasant and that trend is expected to continue through this Thursday. We even got a trace amount (0.04/inch) of rain on Saturday morning. With the heatwave behind us (for now anyway), I've finally gotten out of the house to start tackling a long list of jobs in the garden. None of them are very exciting but at least they give me a sense of accomplishment.
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. For those of you in the US, have a pleasant Labor Day!
All
material © 2012-2023
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Your arrangements are gorgeous. I cannot pick a favorite; they're all lovely.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeanette. I'm happy with all 3 arrangements this week but then I'm enamored with dahlias in general.
DeleteIt must be nice to see a vase with large dahlia blooms in every direction you look. A tough competition today but you may be right... the last one is so sweet, I succumb to it's charms as well.
ReplyDeleteWho knew aster is such a surviver.
Chavli
Symphyotrichum chilense spreads by rhizomes so I should've been forewarned but, when I purchased it, the seller claimed it was manageable in "dry" climates. (I note that they no longer offer it.) After one good rain year, several years ago, it took off. After I pulled it out in 2021, it was a no-show in 2022 but, given the much heavier-than-usual rain this year, I'm not entirely surprised to see it's making a comeback.
DeleteYes to all of them. So lovely. My dahlias are a bit of a bust this year but a pot of Ben Huston that for some reason never left the greenhouse is doing very well. On this very smokey, rainy and cool morning a vase of it's blooms are making me happy.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad 'Ben' came through for you, Elaine. Many people seem to be reporting off seasons with dahlias this year. I'm sorry to hear you're still dealing with smoke!
DeleteBeautiful arrangements, again. Summer's end is so very pretty. It's so nice to be out again in really pleasant weather!
ReplyDeleteI gather we're in for a gradual warm-up again later this week so the weather roller coaster may not be over yet here but I'm appreciating what we have while we have it!
DeleteYour dahlia labors are paying off! Happy Labor Day Kris...
ReplyDeleteThanks Loree. The dahlias have required a LOT of patience on my part this year.
DeleteYour dahlias are doing you proud, Kris, and they make such a good foundation in a vase, whatever the base colour - I think I like the purple and pink of the last one best, although the creaminess of the first one is appealing too. You always give us such a treat, Kris!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy. I had to wait for my bounty of dahlias this year but it's arrived at last, even if a few have yet to flower.
DeleteI love the variety of flowers you present each week....and such beautiful dahlias. I love all three as each are perfect....the creamy blooms in the first and the bolder blooms in the second. But my heart went for the third with the soft shades of purple and pink! It feels like an English Tea Party.
ReplyDeleteThat third arrangement kind of sneaked up on me, Donna. I expected little and got a lot.
DeleteGorgeous Dahlias, your gardening patience has been rewarded, Kris. they were worth the wait! I love the foliage combo in the first one. Elegant creams and yellows. Well done. Amelia
ReplyDeleteThanks Amelia!
DeleteGorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! Dahlias and Zinnias are favorites for me, too. And they're such wonderful cut flowers. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Beth. Summer wouldn't be the same without dahlias and zinnias ;)
DeleteYour dahlias are all stunning Kris! I have seen a lot of dahlias on blogs recently, but can safely say La Luna is now my favourite! You do take great photos of them all to do them justice too. I did wonder why you tore out the asters from your beds in 2021? They look wonderful in a vase with the different shades of pink. Don't know where I'd be without my asters!
ReplyDeleteI love asters too, Cathy, but when we get lots of rain, something that admittedly doesn't happen often, that particular aster spreads wildly, only to burn up when heat soars. It took over a very large area and wasn't attractive when it was scorched. We don't have cold winters so, when it spreads everywhere, there's nothing to knock it back down.
DeleteYour dahlias are spectacular and well worth the wait. Pristine, unique and beautiful. Bet you had a grand time arranging them all.
ReplyDeleteDahlias do make me happy, Susie! The only problem is that some of them are flopping over others this year so, next year I have to be more careful about which I plant where and provide them support before they get to large to control ;)
DeleteAll of those dahlias are simply beautiful. I think I must be fonder of cream colored flowers than I realize, because I've been commenting on a lot of them lately. Obviously, this means I need to grow my collection next year lol. Does Summer's End change colors?
ReplyDeleteA lot of my dahlias change colors as the flowers mature and 'Summer's End' is one of those, Angela. It's a "water lily' type with smaller petals so the color change is relatively subtle. The dahlia I remember as showing the most dramatic shifts was 'Punkin Spice' but I'm not growing that one this year.
DeleteDahlias are so gorgeous, they make shine any arrangement they are in. I love your selection, 'La Luna' looks like one I might need to add to my collection. :) I'm thinking of thinning my selection and adding some new ones next year. One can get bored even of these beauties! Eliza
ReplyDeleteTrue, Eliza! Although I periodically find myself missing some of those I'm not growing - this year that includes Dahlias 'Thomas Edison' and 'Punkin Spice'.
DeleteLovely Dahlias--worth the wait! --hb
ReplyDeleteThe dahlias really tried my patience this year, HB!
DeleteOh you're certainly spoilt for dahlias Kris and yet more to come! 'La Luna' looks so attractive and what an apt name too.
ReplyDelete'La Luna' was a nice discovery, even if the wait to see the flowers was 2 years long, Anna. But, it's a good thing I didn't realize the tuber was still in place when I thought I'd cleared out all the dahlia tubers last fall. I saved a lot of those I grew last year but 'La Luna' would've been dumped due to its failure to make an appearance in 2022 if it hadn't avoided my notice ;)
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