In a Vase on Monday: The Dahlias have Arrived!

I haven't had much success growing Dahlias in the past.  I've previously planted them in my mixed borders but, as most of my borders are filled with drought tolerant plants and as I've restricted irrigation in response to California's ongoing concerns with water usage, they never received the water they need to grow well.  So, this year, when I decided to try growing them again, I placed them in the raised planters I'm now using as a cutting garden.  I water the plants in this area more heavily than any other area of my garden.  That's made all the difference with the Zinnias I'm growing this year and it appears that the Dahlias are responding too.

The first of my Dahlia blooms set the palettes for both vases I created for "In a Vase on Monday" this week.  Vase #1 was focused on Dahlia 'Little Robert', a small pom-pom variety.

The dark centers of the pink Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) echo 'Little Robert's' magenta tones so I threw the 2 of them them together in this vase

The color of my noID ivy geranium (Pelargonium peltatum), used here at the back of the vase, is almost identical to that of the Dahlia, although the former photographs as a stronger red

Top view

Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: Dahlia 'Little Robert', Artemisia ludoviciana, Eustoma grandiflorum, Pelargonium peltatum, and the variegated foliage of Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star'

The second vase was constructed around Dahlia 'Terracotta', a semi-cactus variety.

I wasn't sure about using yellow, even pale yellow, in this mix but there are touches of yellow in the Dahlia and, heck, I have a lot of yellow Lisianthus in bloom too

I relegated the salmon-colored cactus Zinnias to the back of the vase as they competed too strongly with the Dahlia for dominance when positioned in the front

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Dahlia 'Terracotta', Abelia x grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', Eustoma grandiflorum, Tanacetum vulgare, and Zinnia elegans

These 2 Dahlias and a third, 'Loverboy', which just produced its first blooms, have whetted my appetite for more, although I do have space constraints.  I have 4 more Dahlia varieties that have yet to bloom, so perhaps I'll be pulling out some of what I have at the end of this season, which would make room to try others next year.  Or, perhaps I'll simply have to add some large pots to my cutting garden next year.

Coincidentally, on a Saturday whirlwind trip to Roger's Gardens in Orange County to pick up succulents, I discovered that the garden center was having a Dahlia show.

Blooms submitted by customers for consideration

I didn't stay long enough to find out which flowers received the most votes but here are some of my favorites among the submissions:

Very few of the blooms were submitted with cultivar names.  Among those I photographed, the exceptions were the 3 in the bottom row, which are, from left to right, 'Radiance', 'Santa Claus', and 'Thomas Edison'.

If I'd have known about the competition ahead of time, perhaps I'd have submitted 'Loverboy'.

Dahlia 'Loverboy' bloomed on Saturday, after I'd published my Bloom Day post of course...

For more Monday vases, visit Cathy, our IaVoM host, at Rambling in the Garden.

The first vase sits in the front entry and the second on our dining room table