The dahlias in my cutting garden have gone bonkers. 'Iceberg' is finally in the process of opening its first bloom so now all those I planted this year have made a showing. Even though the combination of last week's heatwave and our dreaded Santa Ana winds took a toll on some of them, causing tall stems to fall over and break and other blooms to wither in place, there were still many more dahlias than I had time to cram into vases on Sunday.
I built my first arrangement around one of the recent arrivals, Dahlia 'Lady Darlene'.
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| 'Lady Darlene's' yellow and red petals curve downward, giving the flower a ball-like shape |
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| Back view: As I only had 3 'Lady Darlene' flowers in good shape, I had to make do with yellow dahlias, grass plumes, and foliage to fill out the vase |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Lady Darlene', D. 'Summer's End', noID yellow dahlia, Leucadendron salignum 'Safari Sunset', L. 'Wilson's Wonder', and Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' |
I hadn't planned to use Dahlia 'Fairway Spur' this week but all of a sudden it's producing gobs of flowers, most of which aren't mutants for a change. I went bigger than usual in creating an arrangement around them.
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| I used burgundy foliage and a dark-toned vase to contrast with the orange and yellow dahlias |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', D. 'Summer's End', Hibiscus acetosella 'Haight Ashbury', Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Pineapple' (aka coleus), and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Lime Orange' |
My last arrangement is a simplified version of the one I created last week using lavender-colored flowers and purple foliage. I wanted to experiment further with the Vitex foliage and, like Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', 'Mikayla Miranda' had pumped out a lot of new blooms. I skipped the process of dunking the Vitex stems in hot water this week - the stems straightened up nicely overnight in water after I split the bottom inch of each stem.
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| Top row: the arrangement from 3 angles Middle: pink and white Cosmos bipinnatus and Vitex trifolia Bottom: Dahlias 'Lavender Ruffles' and 'Mikayla Miranda' |
Our temperatures started to come down yesterday. Instead of the temperatures in the low-to-mid 90sF we had last week, we're expecting them to settle into the low-to-mid 70s (23-25C) this week. I'm looking forward to getting back to work in the garden, although this week I have some help coming to trim about half my trees (fourteen this year), which means I'll be busy moving potted plants and other breakables out of the way and then restoring them to their spots afterwards so I'm not likely to get any big projects done.
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
So many dahlias! I love how you worked in the leucadendron, pennisetum and hibiscus foliage, it makes the blooms all the more lush and dramatic. Good luck with the tree trimming!
ReplyDeleteThanks Loree. I'm glad I picked up that Hibiscus almost by accident months ago - a dozen small plants were tucked in a corner with no signage, although they did have tags. In addition to looking good in its half barrel with other plants, I've made great use of the foliage in vases.
DeleteI'd have to say no you can't...it is an addiction. I have never seen a yellow and red dahlia and really love how you made it the star of that vase. The 2 other vases were bringing up the chorus and standing out too! Beautiful Kris.
ReplyDeleteYes, and I am hooked! 'Lady Darlene' took so long to get around to blooming, I'd forgotten what it looked like until it developed buds and I looked it up.
DeleteAnother amazing Dahlia experience, Kris. These all reflect the season nicely and I love the vitex again this week, will have to try the stem split. October is Dahlia planting time here. Amelia
ReplyDeleteGiven your timing for sowing zinnia seeds and planting dahlia tubers, it seems your garden season is the reverse of ours, Amelia.
DeleteNever too many dahlias! These are beautiful varieties, Kris. As always with dahlias, it is hard to pick a favorite, they are all gorgeous. Eliza
ReplyDeleteThanks Eliza. It's about time to sort out which tubers I'll hang onto and which will end up in the compost bin, although the condition of the tubers when I did them up is part of that equation too. All I can say for certain at this point is that I'll keep no more than one 'Lavender Ruffles' and that I'll be tossing the 'Fairway Spur' that's heavy on mutants. I always have to leave room for some newbies;)
DeleteNo, never enough! The Leucadendron foliage makes a perfect companion.
ReplyDeleteI can't even remember gardening without Leucadendrons, Eliza!
DeleteWowza! You are such a pro with floral arranging (and gardening), and I'm so jealous of your beautiful Dahlias. I just don't seem to have enough sun here for them. Although...I'm thinking about another idea (sorta sunny spot) for next year... Anyway, beautiful arrangements!
ReplyDeleteI hope you find that sunny spot, Beth. while they like sun, they can handle a bit of shade. My cutting garden is actually on the northwest side of the house and it doesn't get sun all day.
DeleteWe were both fretting our dahlias were so slow to get going this year, Kris! Yours have really excelled. You did a great job partnering the dahlias with foliage that set them off to perfection. We've been in the 40s the past couple nights. It has just hit me that these dahlias won't go on forever, getting to be time to rest.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be the mildew that pushes me to take my cutting garden apart sooner rather than later, Susie. The mildew's become pervasive in the last week, probably due to the very warm weather that came on the heels of the damp conditions brought by our morning marine layer. Neem oil can prevent the mildew but I avoid using it when pollinators are active as it can kill them if they come into direct contact with the spray.
DeleteThe powdery mildew on zinnias here is worst I've ever seen it. Looks like I have a silver-foliage theme going. Looks awful but doesn't seem to affect the flowers. I didn't know about the neem, thanks for the info--I though it was supposed to be safe--bummer.
DeleteNeem is supposed to be safe for bees and butterflies provided they don't have direct contact with the spray but how do you control that? Even if you spray in the late afternoon or early evening, it would seem you could hurt sleeping bees - or moths. My experience is that Neem also works best to prevent mildew, as opposed to treating it once mildew has already set in.
DeleteWow! the dahlias are stunning. You just can't beat them for late season colour. In answer to your question 'Can you have too many dahlias?' Well yes you can. I am in the process of digging all of mine out, splitting, drying and packing them away for winter. A lot of work but a labour of love none the less.
ReplyDeleteEven though my climate doesn't require it, I dig up my dahlia tubers each year too, Elaine. My purpose is to clear space in my cutting garden's raised planters for cool season bulbs, plugs and seeds (while preventing the dahlia tubers from rotting due due to too much water during their dormant period). Yes, it's a lot of work, but I'm committed.
DeleteYes, you can never have too many dahlias! And I agree that it's worth digging them out, for peace of mind really - and it's not too great a task. I like the two-tone effect of Lady Darlene, which reminds me of D Art Deco. In all 3 vases you have combined dahlias and foliage to great effect, making it hard to choose a favourite - but it's probably the third one, just because of the colours.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed by 'Lady Darlene' too, Cathy. I'm still hoping that my dahlias will manage to hang on through the end of this month but the foliage is looking more unsightly with every passing day so I may be digging them up sooner than I'd like.
DeleteThat's an impressive trio of dahlia arrangements Kris. My favourite is the second with it's warm and glowing autumnal shades. Your temperatures look most pleasant indeed. Here after a warm spell for us the temperatures are set to really tumble later on this week 😱
ReplyDeleteI'm generally happy when our temperatures tumble, Anna, but then they never plummet as far as yours do. I hope you manage to stave off the first frost for awhile yet.
DeleteYour dahlias are amazing Kris! I really love the big vase with the chocolatey Hibiscus foliage, and the Pennisetum is also a lovely addition to the first one. 23-25°C sounds perfect! We are a bit below that now, but still enjoying our Indian summer.
ReplyDeleteThat Hibiscus was a great buy, Cathy, regardless as to where or not I ever see flowers on it!
DeleteOh no, the Santa Anas! Reliably annoying. I love your dahlia collection so much and am admittedly curious as to how much space it must take up with all these flowers coming out of it. Gorgeous and inspiring vases as always. I think I'm going to have to go hunting for grass plumes, after seeing them popping up in people's vases to such great effect.
ReplyDeleteThe majority of my dahlias (along with zinnias and cosmos) are in 3 raised planters in my cutting garden, Angela. The planters are 4'x8' so the tubers are tucked in pretty close. I also have tubers in 4 half-barrels, although only one is there alone and, surprisingly, it hasn't done as well as those crammed together ;)
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