Dahlias! Oh man, do I love them…like seriously could-get-addicted-to-them love them. They are so gorgeous with their almost perfect blooms. In my northwest Wisconsin zone 4 garden, they have to be dug up in the fall and the tubers stored indoors because of our harsh winters. I’ve been growing dahlias for several years now and super impressed with myself that I’ve actually managed to keep them alive to grow again the next spring. Suppose I should take this time to apologize to all the gladiolas and begonias I’ve forgotten in the ground. Not only do the dahlias continue to bless me every year, they multiply!
One thing I haven’t done though is mark my dahlias before I dig them up so I can identify them in the spring. Therefore, I end up with quite the random mix in the garden! Of course, that’s not always a bad thing. One of my goals 2020 though is to find a better way to do that. I always think I’ll remember which is what but once that hard frost shows up, they just aren’t all that recognizable anymore!
In this blog post, I’m going to post some of my favorite photos of dahlias in my garden for 2019. Unfortunately, I’m missing the names on some so if you know them, I’d love to hear from you. Again, 2020 goal is do better at all that identification stuff! 🙂
Small But Mighty White Dahlias
Let’s start with the smallest of the bunch. Smallest in size but definitely the had most impact and amount of overall flowers. I planted these little “White Aster” pompon style dahlias in the two containers that flank my purple metal bench. Two tubers each and they grew like crazy! They started blooming very early – mid July – and just kept putting on a show until a heavy frost took them out in early October. Because of where they were planted, I was able to store these separately so will hopefully plant them in the same containers this summer.
Some of My Other Favorites from 2019
Pretty in Pink Dahlias
And last but not least, these large pink dahlias have been my main dahlia since I started. I’m not sure on the name (based on a Google Search, Lavender Perfection maybe?) but they are gorgeous in their simplicity and size.
What are some of your favorites? Please let me know in the comments! I will definitely keep growing my collection in the years to come.