I could not dig up my dahlias last fall. I was too busy falling down and going to the Emergency Room.
Here they are.
They survived without my digging them, drying them, cleaning them and then storing them in shoeboxes with vermiculite.
What else have I been doing the hard way?
Sigh.
Do not answer that.
FLAW. I mean FLOW.
My dahlia post that I published on the wrong blog in the middle of the night is now lost in cyberspace. Sometimes it is easier to start over than backtrack.
Many strange things have happened since my hip replacement. My head is still spinning. When I tell folks about the events they ask if I am still on pain medication. The answer is no. The craziness could be from the eight nights of insomnia. I am laying low today since it is Friday the 13th. I feel like the universe is messing with me!
I am stuck on my decks for a while longer until I am more stable and all the railing has been installed. My daughter fell up some steps last week. We live on a hill, so there are few flat spaces and steps are everywhere.
I have watched my dahlias from afar. No watering, weeding , deadheading or feeding.
Here they are. Their success is a testament to the soil prep and the staking I did in April before my right hip gave out and I jarred the whole left side of my body stumbling down some steps as I wrestled with a hose.
I hope this post makes it to you. Thanks Susan for letting me know that the booboo was worse than anticipated.
FLOWER is going back to bed. I am too tired to handle any more mischief.
Happy Friday the 13th!
It seems as though the garden celebrates its survival through the summer in September. I know if I can just keep plants alive until now that they will experience a second wind. My new Oxblood Lily has shown up to celebrate fall.
I am glad that I am home to enjoy this last little splurge of garden flowers.
The blue ginger has finally settled in after years of struggle. It bloomed last year but is much healthier now.
The Life Saver plant, Huernia zebrina, is putting out many blooms and buds.
Even the Night Blooming Cereus is budding one last time.
The dahlias are blooming as well. I am glad they survived another summer of neglect.
I guess all living things breathe a sigh of relief as cooler and wetter weather moves in. I am glad to be home for a bit.
FLOW in fall
I try really hard to be a good ‘plant mama’ but I fall short each spring and summer. This year it was the dahlias that took a hit.
The dahlia ‘Nonette’ got left in the bag until I discovered it in June when I almost threw it away. It could not be revived.
The lovely ‘Kelvin Floodlight’ got a disease again this year. My overzealous treatment killed it. I will miss its giant yellow blooms.
I had two batches of ‘Thomas Edison’ dahlia. My usual potting soil messed up the mix this year. It was too wet. Many of my plants rotted including one pot of ‘Thomas Edison.’
‘Cafe Au Lait’ is spindly and floppy with no blooms. I keep propping it up, hoping for improvements. The weather has cooled so there is hope for it.
I know this row looks lovely from afar. I know how it could look. That’s my problem. Gardener’s Guilt is real!
The “glass is half empty” and the row is half empty. I am extra grateful for ‘Firepot’ and ‘Snow Country.’
They have survived the many mishaps and are happily blooming.
FLOW
There are some new beauties in the line-up this year.
These were introduced to me last fall by the famous pianist, Harold Brown of Bramwell.
The three new faces are Nonette, Cafe’ au lait and Kelvin Floodlight.
I ordered these from Old House Gardens. https://oldhousegardens.com/
The Kelvin Floodlight photo does not do it justice.
Cafe’ au Lait is even more gorgeous than I expected.
Nonette needed some extra water to make bigger flowers, but did not disappoint.
My heart still belongs to my three favorites Thomas Edison, Firepot and Snow Country.
Dahlia Row has taken a lot of feeding, composting and watering BUT these blooms are worth it.
Flower
Dahlias need four things to thrive.
First, they need rich soil. I enrich mine with homemade compost and mushroom compost.
Second, they need a lot of water to grow. Mine are at the bottom of a hill with a berm.
Third, they must be supported. I have been negligent in this so excuse the messy stake job.
The fourth thing that MUST happen is cool weather. Dahlias struggle until it cools down.
Then they show off with giant, heavy blooms.
These are my three favorites, Thomas A Edison, Snow Country and Firepot.
I love the cool weather, also. I have wilted and withered all summer. Hooray fall!
FLOW
I have had to water these dahlias during the drought.
I knew if I could just get them through to cooler weather
they would return to their glorious blooming condition.
I have been rewarded for my efforts.
They have pulled through and prospered.
Definitely worth the water.
Flow
I usually do not plant in rows.
But I envisioned a bed of tall dahlias along this walkway through a hill.
I thought it would be great to look down on the blooms.
Last fall I amended the soil with all the ingredients dahlias love…
compost from the kitchen, bunny poop and mushroom compost.
I even topped them off with a special stinky concoction that included fish emulsion and Epsom salts.
They have grown wonderfully.
They were so beefy they needed extra staking.
I think my dahlias are happy in a row.
Don’t you?
FLOW
I have many dahlias. It may not surprise you that most of them are purple.
I have three favorites. Only one of which is purple.
These three are the most trouble, because they are dinner plate dahlias.
The blooms are so large that plant must be supported by stakes and fences.
These three need more water that the smaller dahlias. They need more nutrients.
It takes a lot of work on my part and the plant’s part to produce those big beautiful blooms.
I have decided to let some of my dahlias go. I can’t bring them all in.
There is not enough space… or energy… or time to save them all.
So which three will be dug up, stored and treasured?
The three big, needy ones will.
Because when we work together, we make something beautiful.
Synergy in the garden.
FLOW
floweralley 