I've never succeeded in growing dahlias. I tried some fancy varieties in my old garden but, crammed into a small space that offered far too little sun, I got few flowers and lots of mildew. I tried them in my current garden but fared little better, probably because I provided less water and fewer nutrients than they need. Last weekend, I visited my local botanic garden, just 5 miles away as the crow flies, and was confronted with a beautiful dahlia display garden, which made it clear that I can't blame the local climate for my failures in growing dahlias.
By way of introduction, I should add that I hadn't gone to the garden to see the dahlias. I stopped by for a "shop and learn clinic" on Australian plants. Unfortunately, that event was disappointing. There weren't many plants and most of those there I already had. There were 2
Brachychiton acerifolius (Australian Flame Trees) but as its a fast grower reaching 60 feet in height at maturity I wasn't going to encourage another confrontation with my neighborhood tree hater by planting that, pretty as it may be. This is a long-winded way of explaining that, because the event placed me in the garden at high noon on a very sunny afternoon, my photos are all overexposed.
But on to the dahlias! Although the garden was especially busy for a Sunday afternoon, I had the Dahlia Garden all to myself. It seems that the majority of visitors that afternoon were not there to see the dahlias or to participate in the Australian plants "shop and learn clinic." They were there to play
Pokeman Go. However, no Pokemon were hanging out among the dahlias.
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| The Dahlia Garden occupies a relatively small area of the 87-acre botanic garden |
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| The trellises at the entrance are planted with Amaranthus, Datura, and Dolichos lablab (aka Hyacinth Bean) |
I tried to pick just one dahlia photo as my Wednesday Vignette but I just couldn't do it.
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| This daisy-flowered variety may be my favorite, though. I love that coral color. |
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| I'm sure there were plant tags with cultivar names but I didn't take note of them |
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| Even in partial shade, this bloom shined |
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| I think this is one of the dinner plate variety, although the bloom's size isn't evident in my photo |
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| I didn't like this one much when I saw it in the garden but it photographed well |
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| I loved this one |
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| This one struck me as prim but the geometry of the bloom is striking |
I was glad I got a chance to see the dahlias in peak condition and offer these photos as my Wednesday Vignette, in connection with the meme hosted by Anna of
Flutter & Hum.
Visit Anna to find the images she and other gardeners found arresting this week.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
