Garden Gram #18: A Dozen Favorite Dahlias
Here are the varieties that won my heart this summer.
Many of you know that despite the stormy weather, I managed to escape the Island last weekend to get to my best friend’s daughter’s wedding in Maine. It was truly wonderful in so many ways, and I will write about it some day. But for now, I feel like it is the bride’s and the family’s wedding to share in a way that is natural to them.
But I did tell you I was bringing flowers with me, and I want you to know they went to very good use throughout the weekend. And one of the things that struck me was that a simple dahlia or two in a bud vase (and there were many bud vases on many tables!) is a remarkably powerful advertisement for the joy that beauty brings. A big arrangement is fabulous, but the opportunity to stop and look at one beautiful flower (and I noticed many people doing this) – and see it for the intricate miracle it is – can be pretty special.
So in honor of those dahlias – which I have to say, did their best to bloom right on time for the wedding – I’m doing a quick Garden Gram of my 10 favorite dahlias of the summer. Correction: 12 favorite. Couldn’t narrow down!
There are so many more varieties I want to grow in the future, but for now, each of these gets a big thumbs up from me, either for their looks, their staying power, or both.