DAHLIAS

A freshly picked fall crop (2000), waiting for me to make a few arrangements for entering and showing in our local Horticultural Society parlour show. Scruffy White dahlias in the vase forward right.

An outdoor arrangement with white cactus dahlias and white antirrhinums.

Peachy, with a secret inhabitant...........

...................oops! No secret any more!

After a good show of colour in our front garden of dahlias again this year, my husband Alan spent the last couple of days lifting and preparing them for their winter storage. We were getting impatient as the weather has been fairly mild. But we did experience some mild frost one evening which blackened a few of them. That was enough for him. Up they came, hosed off and ready for their winter spot in the garage. The tubers have mega, mega multiplied.

I really only know the names of a couple of them, so all the ones that I do not know I give them my own pet name. The above cactus dahlia, I call Blue Tips.

In the dahlia basket below, (which did get first prize at the Hort. Society) contains two true named varieties which are Park Princess, the pink cactus and the peach/pink is Peachie.

Also in the basket are two unique ones, the white and orange that you can see. I call them Scruffy White and Carrot Top (which looks like a heap of grated carrot). I really love the uniquness of the latter two.

I am sure if we had decided to start a dahlia business after my first purchase of Park Princess dahlias - two tiny tubers in a packet for about five bucks, we could have been multi-millionaires by now - The tubers they have produced and other dahlias since them have been phenominal. We have given multitudes away and I do not even think we will find enough people again this year to pass them on to. So if any one out there would like some of our dahlia tubers, please get in touch, and we will see how we can get them to you. OK???