Why I Oughta...

We started with one Disneyland Rose back in the Fall of 2017 and grew the collection to three by 2022.  In Spring 2023, I was gifted three more bare root Disneyland Roses for my birthday and I planted them in the front porch bed under the Triumph Elm tree .  All three of those 'new' roses didn't come back in 2024 - and that's where I planted a few Dahlia tubers.   The three Disneyland Roses planted in the sideyard struggled last year.  Between pests and drought, they had limited production during the 2024 growing season .  I failed to water them enough during the early part of the season, but baby'd them later in the year.   This year, for Christmas, I was gifted two MORE Disneyland roses.  They, too, are bare root.  They arrived via UPS in a box and were well-packed.  The roots were still covered in wet paper, so they didn't dry-out during the travel.  Below is a photo showing the packing of the two Disneyland Roses from Jack...

Day three of Zinnia seeds.   First, I showed the State Fair Zinnia seeds that we're going to direct sow later this Spring.  Then, yesterday, I posted photos and details of the unique, green-flowered Envy Zinnia seed packets .  Today, is the third new (to me) Zinnia variety via seed packets:  Candy Cane Zinnias.    Here, below, is the front/back of the Zinnia Candy Cane mixed seed packet: If you look around the Web, you find photos of these that show the blooms to be MASSIVE .  Are they?  I'm not sure.     The concern I have for these is that I wonder if they'll look 'ratty'?  Look at the photo on the seed packet - and you might confuse them with a Zinnia bloom that is past-its-prime.   You can see at the top of the back of the seed packet, Burpee lists these as an "Heirloom" and Eden Brothers confirms that fact .  

Zinnia seeds are the theme this week - with another set introduced here on the blog.  Yesterday, I showed a couple photos of a larger-format-bloom Zinnia:  The State Fair Zinnia .  Today, is another new (to me) cut flower.  When you look at the rack of seed packets, you see a lot of the same/similar colors:  pinks, yellows, reds, oranges, peaches.  But, then there's a Zinnia seed packet that stood out.  It is this one below, named Envy.  Seed packet front/back of Envy Zinnia Seeds that we picked up: These are GREEN flowers. Borderline Chartreuse.  That's certainly unique.  Especially for Zinnias (at least for me).   From the Burpee site : Green Zinnias in your garden make a dramatic display that words can only partially describe. The 3" double and semi-double blooms look as sensational in the garden as they do in the vase. Try them in fresh arrangements with white, deep blue or pink flowers. Can be sown directly in the garden...

Down in the IB2DWs bed near the sidewalk are now the home of one of the FIRST signs of Spring.  Some of our tulip bulbs have sprung tips and they've emerged in a purple-ish cone-shape that is peeking through the soil and mulch.  See below for the first couple of these Spring flower bulbs arriving.   Last year, we had a very mild Winter and the tulips emerged in early January .  Yes..January.  We're about a month-or-so behind 2024.   We're CLEARLY NOT done with Winter, so these will stay in this state for a couple more weeks before putting on any vertical growth.  But, seeing these sure warms my gardening heart and makes me remember that the season is right-around-the-corner. 

2025 will continue to be a season of cut flowers (hopefully) with the dahlia tubers that I bought and were gifted to me.  Those dahlias are what carried me through all of 2024, but I also had some setbacks with my other 'cut flowers':  the Disneyland Roses.  I lost two that I planted in 2023 and the three that I've had historically suffered from various stresses.   But, I'm getting back into the game with two more - from the same elf that has gifted us all the previous five:  Nat's Mom. Here, below, is the order form showing two more will be shipped in Spring.  These arrive as bareroot plants, so I'll get them in the ground as soon as they arrive to give them the best shot in 2025.  Planning out the planting location(s) of all the tubers and these two new Roses will be a fun project this Winter - filed under 2025 to-do/2025 planning.  

Back in mid-December, I posted the details of my own Dahlia tuber order from Longfield Gardens that included some Maarn Ball Dahlias, Sweet Nathalie Decorative Dahlias and a bulk oder of Pablo Decorative Border Dahlias.   I say 'my own' Dahlia order because below are the details of a gift order that I was given for Christmas.  So...this is a 'gift order' of tubers and it includes one duplicate and a couple of new-to-me ones. Below is a screenshot of the order showing the tuber varieties:  I'll now be receiving some Wizard of Oz tubers, a few more Sweet Nathalies, some Zundert Mystery Fox Ball tubers and my first set of Collerette dahlias - this one named Pooh.  How can we not love a Winnie the Pooh themed Dahlia flower, right? This means I'll have (at least): 2 Ball varieties (Maarn and Mystery Fox) 1 Pompon variety (Wizard of Oz) 1 decorative variety (Sweet Nathalie) 1 collerette variety (Pooh) 1 decorative gallery variety (Pablo) Next job is to plan on where ...

2024 was the year of the dahlia around here.  I went A LOT further with dahlia tubers in 2024 than I've done in the past - including pre-ordering them, starting the tubers indoors, planting them in the ground, trying to prune them/cut the flowers at the right time/place and....most recently....attempting to overwinter some of the tubers - both in Saran Wrap as well as in the ground. Since the pre-ordering thing went so well this past season, I figured while Longfield Gardens was having a sale on their Dahlia tubers, why not order a bunch to arrive in Spring. Last year, I ordered Melina Fleur and Cornell Bronze .   This year, I ordered three varieties:  Maarn Ball Dahlias Sweet Nathalie Decorative Dalias Pablo Decorative Border Dahlias. Below is a screenshot from my order: They arrive in April, but I'm already thinking about where to grow these Dahlias.  The Pablo tubers were a 'bulk order', so I will have a good-sized colony of these (if they're successful...eek...

2024 has been the season for dahlias in my garden.  This isn't the first time that I've grown Dahlias from tubers, but it is the first season that I worked at getting them right.  From pre-ordering tubers to starting them indoors to moving them out after the last frost to mulching them in and keeping them watered and fed, I've worked at the dahlias this year and the results - in terms of countertop arrangements - have really paid off .   Like a lot of things in the garden, the first frost will bring most dahlia seasons to their end.   Last week, the National Weather Service was tweeting (or X'ing) about how our area was set to receive a couple of nights of 'hard frosts'.    There were a bunch of tweets said that very thing: "...resulting in an end to the growing season for much of the area."  Like this one: Widespread frost and near to sub-freezing temperatures are expected again tonight away from Chicago and the lakeshore, resulting in an e...

Our dahlias keep blooming, but this week, we'll see overnight temperatures down into the 40's.  I'm thinking that means that these things will SLOW WAY DOWN and the blooms will be coming to an end.  Here, below are a couple of photos showing some of the dahlias that I cut this morning - Melina Fleur, Cornell Bronze, Orange Nugget.  

My first year of *really* growing dahlias in my beds has been a learning experience.  From pests to watering to starting them indoors, I've learned a bunch this growing season that I can apply next year.  I'm also learning about their bloom-time.  I last posted a photo of the Melina Fleur dahlias in our front porch bed two weeks ago - mid-September - when the plants were full of blooms .  Fast forward to today, the first of October, and they're (surprisingly...) EVEN MORE FULL TODAY.  Below are a few photos showing some of the dahlias (Melina Fleur, Orange Nugget, and something that was billed as Cornell Bronze, but is a purple pompon one) in our front porch bed and sideyard.   Before we go to the photos, I have to say...it is pretty fun to have something like these to enjoy on October First.   First up is Melina Fleur in front of our porch: Around the southside of our house are more Melina Fleur Dahlias.  This plant is NOT staked: Furth...

The dahlias keep producing blooms.  I can cut an arrangement almost EVERYDAY if I'd like to do that.  I've been giving them away - to neighbors, to my mom, to my sister, to Nat's sister.  2024 is certainly the year of cut flowers - here, here to hitting my 2024 to-do goal for #2 on my list .  Below are a number of blooms that I cut and put in to-go cups for my Mom.

2024 continues to be (for me) the Summer of the Dahlia.  Specifically....the Milena Fleur Decorative Dahlia.  Last Fall/Winter, I ordered six Milena Fleur Dahlia tubers - my first mail order dahlia tubers.  I also bought a couple Cornell Bronze Dahlia tubers at the same time , but based on what I was seeing/reading from Erin the Impatient Gardener on her Instagram, I bought MORE Milena Fleur dahlias than anything else.   There was A LOT to like about these:  they're 'compact' - meaning they stay short and don't require staking.  As a beginning Dahlia grower, that was important.  But, also...the color.   These are billed by White Flower Farm as "blossoms that blend tropical shades of coral pink, papaya, and gold." My journey started earlier this Spring when I potted up the six Melina Fleurs in one-gallon nursery pots - indoors .   At the very beginning of May this year.   After they sprouted, I started to bring them u...

2024 is the year of flowers.  Despite these still be VERY outside my foliage gardening 'comfort zone'.  This started last Fall and continued with my 2024 to-do list with #2 - push thru with flowers . I've done A LOT of dahlias - arranged for the kitchen counter .  And, even a small set of pompon, dark maroon ones .    Now, I have a small Zinnia arrangement.  Mostly composed of the direct-sown Cut and Come Again seeds in the sideyard .  And a couple Yellow Flame Zowie Zinnias from IB2DWs .   Below is what I cut on a recent morning: I will certainly plant these Cut and Come Again Zinnia seeds - in the sideyard.  I'll also put some down IB2DWs, too.  Mark it down for Spring 2025.  

One of my Dahlias - a Melina Fleur variety - that is planted in a protected spot (against the house) on the southside in (mostly) full sun has been pretty busy producing blooms the past few weeks.  But, I started to notice that some of the foliage was starting to get eaten up.  Not lace-like, but holes at the tips and in the middle of a number of leaves.  And, those holes kept getting greater in numbers.  A week ago, I sprayed the plant with Neem Oil, thinking that I might get whomever/whatever was eating the leaves.  But, that didn't seem to slow it down.  So, I went in for a closer look.  And...sure enough...I found a couple of different pests on the plant.  The first were these fuzzy caterpillars.  There were like 30 (that I could find) that I picked off and stomped on.  I also clipped off a number of the partially-eaten leaves.  See below for the backside of the leaf with two (large) and one (tiny) caterpillars below: The other ...

I'm (now) pretty sure that when I planted Cornell Bronze Dahlia tubers this Summer , I was *actually* planting something else.  Why?  Because...the blooms that are coming up in both IB2DWs and in the southside cut flower bed are, well...NOT bronze.  They're dark purple.  Or dark maroon.  And they're small pompons.    Floret has a listing for a Moor Place Dahlia that she calls 'button dahlias' .  That sure looks like what I'm growing.  See below for a few photos of three blooms that I recently cut: You'll also notice in the photos below, a small orange bloom.  That was cut from the sideyard - so I'm *pretty sure* that's an Orange Nugget Dahlia .  But, I also cut one of these from the IB2DWs bed earlier - where I called the bush a bi-color mutation .   So, that's weird, right?  One tuber showing two different flowers?  In two different spots?   I'm (now) thinking that this is LESS of a mutation and more o...

Here's a top-down look at the top few tiers of our Greenstalk vertical garden showing off some of the Zinnias (Cut-and-Come Again and another variety that I grew from last season's seeds) popping off.  I direct sow'd both of these and they're doing fairly well as they *just* enter their blooming season.   Also, peeking through (on the left) is a Rosemary plant that is growing in between some of the cut flowers.   #2 on my 2024 to-do list was to 'push thru on flowers' - including cut flowers .  These Zinnias in the Greenstalk help check that box.  Of course, all the Dahlias lead the way on #2 as well.   See below for the current state of the top-tiers of our Greenstalk: Next year, one tweak I'll make is to think about starting some Zinnias indoors from seed instead of direct sowing them to get them starting blooming a bit earlier than mid/late August.  

Last week, I showed a couple of countertop arrangements featuring some Zinnias and Dahlias.  Well...we're in the THICK of dahlia bloom season.  Looking back at my 2024 to-do list , #2 on the list was to 'add more flowers' and get past my discomfort with blooms.  And #17 was to 'do more/different arrangements'.  While, these monoculture dahlia arrangements aren't *different*, they're certainly checking the box on MORE.  See below for two more vases 1 of Melina Fleur Decorative Dahlias and Cornell Bronze Dahlia blooms .   1. [I used the word vases, but these are pickle and pasta sauce jars.] ↩

I've had so much fun with the handful of dahlia tubers that I have in the garden this year that it has me thinking/dreaming of what might be next year.  More dahlias?  Yes, please. I'm going to try to save the couple of Melina Fluer and Cornell Bronze tubers that I planted this year.  And, I'll probably buy another couple of each just in case.   But, there's a WHOLE world of dahlias out there.  I've learned that I'm MOSTLY drawn to smaller blooms - pompons, balls, etc.  Not so much on Dinnerplate dahlias.  I also like shorter ones that don't require staking.  But, I'm open to trying a taller one next year.  Poking around the Web and watching some gardeners on Instagram has turned me on to a handful of potential dahlia tubers that might go on my 2025 wish list.   Here's some that are top of mind - right now.   Dahlia Burlesca.  Via White Flower Farm .   They are short(er) at 28" and have sunset-hues on ...

Yesterday, I posted a photo of a cut flower arrangement with dahlias, zinnias and Disneyland Roses .  I thought it would be useful to document those plants - as they sit at the end of August.  This is when they're going to (or should) pop-off with blooms.   The Dahlias and Disneyland Roses are two totally different stories.  The Dahlias seemingly are thriving.  The Disneyland Roses?  Dying.  Literally. They've dropped so much foliage.  And have so few blooms.  They look sickly.   The dahlias are full and lush.   Below are a few photos showing the current state of the sideyard - in late August 2024. First, below, is a look at - from right-to-left - a Melina Fleur dahlia, a Disneyland Rose in the middle and on the left...another dahlia.    A bit further to the left are a couple of things that I'm NOT certain of- but I think they're Nicotiana Jasmine and some Zinnias.  Next, below, is the middle Disneyland...

#17 on my 2024 to-do list was to keep going with countertop arrangements .  Last year, I started to bring in some cut flowers and arrange them on our counter.  This year, I've grown more flowers (ahem...comfort zone and all that) and have been bringing them in for the past few weeks. The latest is a two-fer.  A container of dahlia blooms and a smaller one full of Zinnias and some Disneyland Roses.   You can see those two below:  Right now - late Summer/early Fall - is when I'm seeing the most blooms, so it is arrangement go-time.