My dahlias are slowly rolling out their blooms and I've chosen to show off some of those making the most recent appearances this week. Although my 'Cafe au Lait' Dahlia has turned out to be what I believe is 'Cafe au Lait Rose', its presence in my garden can't be denied as it stretches close to five feet tall. Its tall stems earned it a large vase crammed with a variety of pink flowers.
 |
| 'Cafe's' flowers are huge too |
 |
| Back view with flowers of pink Amaryllis belladonna tucked into the sides. The Amaryllis have popped up all over my back garden over the past 2 weeks, some in places I can't account for. |
 |
| Overhead view |
 |
| Clockwise from the upper left: Amaryllis belladonna, Eustoma grandiflorum 'Carmine', Leucadendron 'Jester', Dahlia 'Cafe au Lait Rose', and D. 'La Bella Epoque' |
I thought I'd planted two 'Labyrinth' tubers this season and a single 'Catching Fire' tuber but the small 'Labyrinth' tuber turned out to be 'Catching Fire' so I apparently didn't label my tubers as carefully as I thought I had when I dug them up and divided them last November. Despite the tuber's small size, it got its bloom on before the larger tuber I'd labeled under that name has reached bloom stage, assuming I didn't mislabel that one too. In any case, the first of the 'Catching Fire' Dahlias got center stage in my second arrangement.
 |
| At least I think this is Dahlia 'Catching Fire'. The original tuber I planted in 2022 was labeled as 'Akita', which it definitely was not. Friends suggested that it looked more like 'Catching Fire' and that was the closest match I could find among the red and white varieties I examined. |
 |
| Back view, showing the first of the white Amaryllis belladonna to bloom. The white variety always flowers a couple of weeks after the pink one. |
 |
| Overhead view |
 |
| Clockwise from the upper left: Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Amaryllis belladonna, noID Coleus scuttelarioides*, Dahlia 'Catching Fire', Myrtus communis, and Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Wine' |
Our morning marine layer has continued to keep the afternoon temperatures down in the low-to-mid 70sF (23-24C) for the past week; however, it appears that pattern may start to break down this week, driving temperatures back up. Even then, it doesn't look as though they should go beyond the low 80sF (27C) along the coast. We've been very lucky overall so far this summer.
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
 |
| You may note that I used what I'd originally identified as the back of the first arrangement as the front when I positioned it on the dining room table |
*A few years ago common coleus was reclassified as Plectranthus scutellarioides and I dutifully switched to using that botanical name when I referred to the plants. More recently, it's been reclassified once again, taking back its former name of Coleus scutellarioides. Talk about frustrating!
All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Both are gorgeous, so summery. The Leucadendron is a great supporting character/color. The rose dahlia is pretty, even tho it's disappointing when labels are wrong.
ReplyDeleteOh luscious! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful Dahlias. If I ever have a sunnier garden, I'll definitely be planting more Dahlias! ꨄ︎
ReplyDeleteOh Beautiful Dahlias. The colors are such vibrant. They look fresh.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I like the pink Cafe au Lait better than the nominally coffee coloured one Kris, although persoannly I never felt comfortable with the size of blooms on the C au Lait I had one season, and I guess the pink variety will be similar. I am pleased your dahlias are coming through now, as they are so valuable in the garden, for cutting at and for looking at!! I am glad it has been cooler for you too
ReplyDelete