Although many of the dahlias in my cutting garden have buds, they're still taking their time to develop into blooms.
Dahlia 'Gitt's Crazy' was close but I decided it wasn't quite ready. Meanwhile, many of the plants elsewhere in my garden shut down as temperatures rose into the low 90sF last week. Overall, by comparison to most summers, things haven't been bad along the Southern California coast this year (although the inland areas haven't been as lucky). We haven't even hit 100F (37.8C), much less had one of the more severe heatwaves that have become common in recent years. We're still miserably dry and water restrictions are a looming issue but, as we don't usually get rain during summer months, we can't anticipate any changes on that score until late fall or winter. And by comparison with Northern California and other areas of the Western US experiencing persistent wildfires and areas of the Southeast US currently facing Hurricane Ida, I know we're fortunate.
Dahlia 'Akita' produced one dramatic bloom this week, which I found I couldn't ignore even though it was already past its peak. My challenge was to put a different spin on the arrangement so it didn't look like a replay of the
one I created two weeks ago.
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| Once again, 'Akita's' bloom was easily 8 inches in diameter. The creamy notes at the flower's center were more noticeable in this bloom than those I used in my earlier arrangement. |
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| Back view: I played off the cream colors in the dahlia bloom, using Grevillea 'Superb' and zinnias in the 'Queen Lime' series as accents |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', Dahlia 'Akita', Zinnia elegans 'Queen Lime Blush' and 'Queen Lime Orange', and Grevillea 'Superb' |
Several of my seed-sown sunflowers finally bloomed last week so I cut two stems, combining them with the native aster that's slowly burning out in my back garden.
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| I sowed a few varieties of sunflowers in plantable pots in early June and planted the viable seedlings out in late June. Those in the well-watered cutting garden did fairly well but those in my south side border all died of thirst. |
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| Back view, dressed up with a few strawflowers |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Helianthus 'Lemon Queen', Symphyotrichum chilense 'Purple Haze', Xerochrysum bracteatum, and Zinnia 'Profusion Yellow' |
All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
