I spent a good portion of the weekend working in my garden, focusing half my time on taking apart the cutting garden on the northwest side of the house. I've dug up thirteen of the fifteen dahlia tubers in the raised planters. The two remaining dahlias and the zinnias will come out this week so I can prepare the planters for the seeds, bulbs, and plugs I grow there during our cool season (late fall through early spring). There are four other dahlias in containers elsewhere but I can take my time about pulling them out. I still need to prepare the tubers I plan to store in the garage during their dormant period but I can give myself a little time before tackling that chore too.
I'd hoped to have 'Mikayla Miranda' Dahlias to end the season but they withered away too soon. I took advantage of a single bloom of Dahlia 'Vancouver', embellishing it with zinnias and other plant material.
![]() |
| 'Vancouver' was a bit beyond its prime but I elected to use it anyway |
![]() |
| Back view: I used two of the same varieties of zinnias I used in last week's second arrangement. I've been using floral food in my arrangements regularly now and last week's arrangement still looks good, only slightly faded. |
![]() |
| Top view |
![]() |
| Clockwise from the upper left: noID Alternanthera, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Hypoestes phyllostachya, Dahlia 'Vancouver', Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Wine', noID Zinnia, Z.e. 'Zinfandel Lilac', and Cuphea 'Starfire Pink' |
I had three more blooms from my late-blooming Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera' this week. The plant is growing in a barrel and I'll keep it there for awhile to see if I can get additional flowers, hence the question mark in this post's title. One Dahlia 'Catching Fire', also in a barrel, currently has a single bloom but its foliage is developing mildew and I don't see a single bud so the likelihood of further flowers there is low.
![]() |
| The 'Belle of Barmera' Dahlias are out of proportion with the other flowers in this arrangement but I went with them anyway as it's possible I won't see any more this year. The heavy flowers up front actually fell over after a few hours in the vase, forcing me to cut the stems shorter and photograph them again. |
![]() |
| Back view |
![]() |
| Top view |
![]() |
| Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Tanacetum parthenium, Rudbeckia hirta 'Sahara', Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera', Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Coral', Z. e. 'Golden Hour', and Z. e. 'Zinfandel Peach' |
I dug up the very tall 'Summer's End' Dahlia on Friday and threw the last presentable blooms into the small vase I had on the kitchen island, along with the last 'La Luna' Dahlia, which I couldn't bring myself to put out on the street for neighbors with the other surviving flowers.
![]() |
| Dahlia 'Summer's End' was as prolific this year as it was last year but I can't say the same for 'La Luna' |
Although I'm not sorry to put summer's hot, dry weather behind us, I always feel a little sad when I clear my cutting garden of the last of the season's colorful blooms. It'll be months before the cool season cutting garden jumps into gear, especially if it remains dry and warmer temperatures persist. Much as I appreciate the trivial amounts of precipitation we periodically get from our morning marine layer, we haven't had any real rain here for nearly six months. The current forecast says there's a forty-five percent chance of light rain next weekend but that could quite literally evaporate over the course of the week.
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
