At last, one of the recalcitrant dahlias deigned to make an appearance just as most of the rest are eyeing the exit. Admittedly, I acquired two tubers of of Dahlia 'Fairway Spur' in a late season sale so I shouldn't blame the dahlia but rather myself for the delay. As it stands, three other dahlia tubers, all planted well before 'Fairway Spur', still haven't bloomed, although one of those at least has buds.
Oh well, best to celebrate what one has than mourn what one does not.
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The 'Fairway Spur' Dahlia flowers are large enough to eclipse the accent materials I selected. There are several stems of Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' tucked in there that even I missed when I took my photographs.
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This was intended as the back side of the arrangement but I like it better than the side I'd originally designated as the front, partly because this older bloom shows more color variation than the newer ones
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana, Zinnia elegans 'Queen Orange Lime', Z. e. 'Queen Red Lime', Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', and Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder'
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I hadn't planned to use Dahlia 'Catching Fire' again this week but the flowers were so heavy that one branch had toppled over. In addition, the resident raccoons had decided to dig up both the half-barrels in my front garden, including the one containing this dahlia, so I decided I'd best cut the flowers before they came back to do more damage.
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The arrangement is similar to others I created featuring this dahlia, except that I've added plumes of Pennisetum grass and 2 stems of Correa 'Ivory Bells', another Australian fuchsia that's just getting started with its seasonal bloom cycle. I included 2 barely open dahlia buds because one I cut last week surprised me by opening fully.
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Back view
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Ivory Bells', Helichrysum petiolare 'Petite Licorice' (a weed here), Dahlia 'Catching Fire', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum', and Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Deep Red'
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In response to earlier raccoon rampages on the three raised planters in my cutting garden, I'd laid out empty plastic flats to cover the soil where possible but I hadn't tried that with the barrels because the flats were too big. Yesterday, deciding I had to try something to thwart the raccoons' latest grub-hunting expeditions, I cut three flats into smaller pieces and squeezed them into place between plants. I'm hoping that does the job until the dahlias have finished blooming - or until I get fed up with their mildewed foliage and pull up the tubers to create space for my cool season flower garden.
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This is the barrel that holds Dahlia 'Catching Fire' after I added pieces of the plastic flats, attaching lawn staples to make them harder to remove
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For more IAVOM creations, visit our muse, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2022by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
