Why I Oughta...

The season REALLY *is* winding down now.  And the colors of the Melina Fleur dahlias are changing color to be much more middle-pink with little yellow appearing aside from the center seed head.  These three went out the door to folks all at the same time.  They each have some Dusty Miller, Arkansas Bluestar and some fern fronds in them.  Each of them are in thrifted or recycled jars (mason or jelly).  My rough count shows that these are (around) the 40th arrangement of the season.  A few with roses, but mostly these ball, pompon and decorative dahlias.

We have two Wizard of Oz Dahlia plants in the front yard.  One IB2DWs and the other in the back of the Island Bed in the middle of the front yard.  Despite the one IB2DWs starting off much stronger, it has peter'ed out with tiny blooms that are (mostly) white.  The Island Bed Wizard of Oz Dahlia, on the other hand, is LOADED with pink ball dahlia blooms.  That, the bees are loving.  If you look closely at the photo below, you'll see bees all over the center of these dahlia blooms: The quality of the soil is very different in these two spots:  the Island bed is rich and full of compost and biosolids.  The IB2DWs bed is always 'hard to grow', full of clay and shallow with just a few inches of soil before you get to gravel.  

Another day, another dahlia cut flower arrangement.  The usual suspects:  Melina Fleur, Wizard of Oz, Avanetti, Mystery Fox.  Along with some Autumn Fern fronds, Garden Ghost Artemesia and a Lucky Charm Anemone stem.  All tucked into a white Milk Glass vase.  This one was put together very quickly and sent out the door to Nat's good friend for her birthday.  

This was a birthday bouquet for a friend that includes a variety of dahlia blooms, a spray of Autumn Fern, some rosemary, Lucky Charm anemone and Artemesia Garden ghost for the upright white colors. The colors of some of the dahlias are changing as the season grows on: half of the Wizard of Oz have gotten much whiter.  The Melina Fleurs are darkening and the Ivanettis are doing what they do best:  showing off.

Here are a couple of dahlia-bloom-heavy arrangements that I brought over to Oakbrook Terrace this past weekend.  Both are filled with various dahlia types including pompon, ball and decorative.  Ivanetti and Mystery Fox are looking pretty good with their ombre looks.  And, the pinks of Wizard of Oz highlight the bright tones of Melina Fleur decorative dahlias.  There was one more that I cut and put-together at the same time, but I didn't get photos of it before it went off to its final home.  Both of these are in re-used jars.  A small yogurt jar on the left and a mason jar on the right.   These are different than the one I posted yesterday (two photos) and it is clear that dahlia bloom season is upon us.  

Below are a pair of photos showing one over-stuffed dahlia arrangement that is full of decorative (Melina Fleur), Ball (Mystery Fox,  Ivanetti) and Pompon (Wizard of Oz) blooms that range from (almost) white to very pale pink to bubble-gum pink to Salmon with yellow centers contrasting with some shades close to dark velvet.   I crammed all the stems into a narrow-mouth vase because I wanted it to fit into a car cup holder for ease of transport as this one was headed to Elmhurst for my sister. 

Another day, another mixed dahlia arrangement .  This one (below) includes some larger blooms from the Melina Fleur plants, a bunch of Ivanetti dark purple blooms and some smaller Wizard of Oz ball dahlias along with a little bit of eucalyptus, some rosemary, Dusty Miller and the Lucky Charm Anemones that are thriving right now in the back garden. The tags that show off the full catalog of dahlia arrangements include [ countertop flowers ], [ dahlia arrangement ] and [ arrangement ].  

Dahlia Season continues with pinks, purples, salmons and yellow centers.  Wizard of Oz, Melina Fleur, Mystery Fox and what I (now) think is Ivanetti dahlia blooms .   The Melina Fluers are coming into their own, but the Sweet Nathalie Dahlias continue to be VERY shy and unproductive.   I'm out of containers, so we either need to start to eat pickles (Claussen's, of course) and salsa, or I need to get to the Goodwill to see if they have any 99 cent narrow-mouth vases on the shelves.   Here is this morning's cut:

Yesterday, I posted a photo of a bunch of Pooh Collarette Dahlia blooms that I cut and brought inside this week and talked about how I'm seeing "Dahlia Season" beginning to arrive with increased blooms.  That's due to a couple of things:  the time/maturity of the plants this season along with some recovery from a mite infestation.  The colors, shapes and textures of this morning's cuttings sure are fun to see.  Below are a couple of photos showing what is in bloom and how the colors are changing based on the time of year.   This is (mostly) the usual bunch ( like the cut flowers I posted a few days ago ):  Wizard of Oz, Melina Fleur, Mystery Fox and that dark purple dahlia.  

Cut-and-come-again season is upon us in the garden.   Specifically for dahlias.  When I look back at last year's photos, this post from October 1st shows what I called "Pop'ing off" of dahlia blooms that happens as the weather cools down.   The Melina Fleur Dahlia shown in this post is LOADED with blooms .  In preparation (and hopefully) to stimulate that behavior to return in the coming weeks, I've been busy cutting blooms regularly. Below is a small dahlia-only arrangement that I made on a recent evening.  Thanks to the re-used salsa jar, this burst of petals was gifted to our neighbor.  It is full of large Melina Fleur blooms as well as the group that I've been using regularly:   Mystery Fox, Wizard of Oz and this dark purple ball dahlia that is of an unknown variety .   What's NOT in this arrangement (above) is any Sweet Nathalie dahlias .  Why?  Because they haven't quite thrived.  But, we're this/close to ...

Dahlia season is just about here.  And, the pace of blooms is picking up.  That is....as long as I can fight off pests.  Mites, earwigs, Japanese Beatles, Budworms.  They're all here and working HARD against me. Year of Cut Flowers continues with this dahlia-centric arrangement.  I tucked in a spray of Ghost Fern and Garden Ghost (Two "ghosts" in our garden), some Lucky Charm Anemone and even a couple of Cascade Hops.

Another summer arrangement.  But, this one features two new - recently blooming - things:  Lucky Charm Anemone and Pooh Dahlia.  You can look at the photo below and immediately know which one is named Pooh.  It is a collarette dahlia - my first one of those.  Also in here are a few Melina Fleur, Mystery Fox, Wizard of Oz and one Sweet Nathalie dahlias.   

A few days ago, I posted a couple of photos showing some of the latest cut flower arrangements from our garden .  They featured a variety of dahlias and some other perennials for foliage/accent flowers.  Right now, the Mystery Fox (dark red) and Wizard of Oz (pink) are in bloom.  Wizard of Oz is considered a Pompon Dahlia while Zundert Mystery Fox is a Ball Dahlia .   There's (of course) some Garden Ghost Artemisia and Butterscotch Amsonia/Arkansas Bluestar for foliage.   This arrangement is in a Smuckers jelly jar - not a thrifted vase.   Earlier this month, I also showed how I had stored Sarah Bernhardt peonies in the fridge for eight weeks and brought them back to life .  Here, below, are a couple of photos showing the arrangement of these pink peonies along with a couple other things like Limelight Hydrangeas, Blue Fortune Agastache and a spray of Japanese Ghost Fern. These peonies are in a thrifted vase. #18 on my personal to-do/tas...

The most-recent set of cut flower arrangements include a round-up of what is coming into bloom in late July.  This post is going up in early August, but these vases were built in late July.  The first one features some dark red (almost maroon) Mystery Fox dahlia blooms, Oklahoma Salmon Zinnias , Limelight Hydrangeas, Polka dot plant foligae and some upright stalks of Garden Ghost Artemesia.     The second one includes a couple of Wizard of Oz Ball dahlias , some Pablo Gallery Border Dahlias , a bunch of Disneyland Roses and some (of my current go-to accent pieces) like the white Polka Dot plant foliage and sprigs of the white Garden Ghost Artemesia .   Both are in thrifted vases.  My focus at the Goodwill is on small vases that will fit in a cupholder of the car and are priced at 99 cents.  Like shooting fish in a barrel.  

The Oklahoma Salmon Zinnias are popping off right now.  And, the earliest dahlia - Wizard of Oz - has a few open flowers.  And, the Limelight Hydrangeas are still not-quite-ready to open up their panicles.   Along with a couple of wisps of Garden Ghost Artemesia from the front yard Island Bed, we have another cut flower arrangement.   Below are a couple of photos showing this arrangement off from the front and side.  The Oklahoma Salmon Zinnias are showing up more as 'orange' right now, so do they work with the pink of the Wizard of Oz Dahlia ?  Technically...I'm unsure.  But, for me?  They work together just fine.   Around the edges are a couple of tips from the Limelight Hydrangeas in our garden: Feels like the first of many more to come this Summer.  

The dahlias have only been outside, planted in the beds, for about five weeks.  They went in the ground the first week in June.  Here's a post showing the containers of tubers that I started indoors in late April .  This year, I've expanded the varieties of Dahlias that we have in the garden by a big number.  Last year, I grew (exclusively) Melina Fluer dahlias and they were great.  So great, in fact, that I went down this "dahlia expansion" path for 2025.  One of the new varieties that we're growing is named Wizard of Oz.  I planted one of these down IB2DWs (near the sidewalk) and the other one languished in the container.  Until just this past week, when I finally stuck it in the front yard .   Wizard of Oz is a pink pompon dahlia. White Flower Farm says that Wizard of Oz ..."features honeycombed, fully double blossoms in a lovely shade of pastel pink. These 2–3″ pompoms make enchanting additions to late summer gardens and flower bou...

I've been holding on to a couple of dahlia tubers that I potted up weeks ago.  In one two-gallon nursery pot was a pair of Pablo Gallery border dahlias ( That is also home to a tiny Zinnia seedling that I tucked into the middle.  I was experimenting with 'thinning' out my Zinnia seedlings to see if I could succesfully pull one out and transplant it.  Seems to be working... ).   I originally set out the large variety of dahlia tubers (that I started indoors) in early June - after the last threat of frost .  I planted five Pablo Gallery border dahlias in the patio bed in back.  I put another one in the side yard.  And, gave one away to my Mom.  That left these two to find a new home.  After sitting on them for weeks, I decided to plant them up in the front yard.  In the back of the Island Bed. These photos are from late June, despite this post going up in early July.  Here, below, are the Pablo Gallery dahlias showing some growth...

Five weeks ago, I potted up a number of stored-over-Winter dahlia tubers and a bunch of new-to-us purchased tubers in one-gallon nursery pots . I kept them inside for the month of May and by mid-month many of them were showing signs of life with new growth .  As June began, I started to harden off the dahlias with increasing time outside.  Eventually, leading to leaving them outside, overnight for a few nights.   Then...it was time to plant them.  Here's a look at the dahlias we are growing out on the patio getting hardened off: Hardening off dahlias that we started indoors a month earlier.   I have planted twenty-one (21) dahlia tubers in six locations.  Yes...twenty-one dahlias.  EEEK.  That's A LOT more than last year.   I also gave away three (two Melina Fleur tubers, one Pablo Gallery tuber).  And....Left on the patio are some slow-to-start ones.  These six *might* come to life, or they might be DOA.  This i...