Category Archives: Dahlias

September 23, 2012 · 9:23 pm

DAHLIAS

The Dahlias are blooming!

They are one of the great gifts of fall

And in my book fall has many gifts.

You may recall about a year ago when

I realized I needed to move my Dahlia bed

From it’s original home that had become too shady

To the east side of my Garden House.

It’s much sunnier here

Meaning more Dahlia blooms.

Just love that.

These dramatic blooms

Are an explanation point toward the end of the garden season.

Dahlias are relatively easy to grow.

Plant the tubers 6″ – 8″ deep in the early spring

After the nights warm up past freezing.

I usually go ahead and put up the fencing

As soon as I plant them.

Actually I use triangular tomato cages

Reinforced with a little re-bar.

Because to get blooms the size of your head

You get lots and lots of plant.

So fencing from the beginning

Insures that you keep them growing up

And not everywhere else.

Then as the bloom stocks grow and grow

I stake them individually.

Because giant blooms

And wind

Are not a good combination.

It sound like more work than it actually is

But like most things in life

It’s well worth it!

Enjoy this glorious fall.

Gail

P.S. The Bees like them,too!

PASS ALONG PLANTS

One of the things I love about gardeners

Is there willingness to share.

I’ve mentioned this before.

Sharing is so prevalent

It’s even been given a name.

Pass Along Plants.

Sally’s Pass Along Larkspur

Most well-kept gardens

Produce babies.

Lots of them.

And there’s a need to find them each a good home.

At least that was true when I first started gardening.

After all I had been given plants by my friend Sally to start my garden.

I should certainly pay it forward

When the time came.

The truth is it’s impossible to find each seedling a new little bit of heaven.

But I still try.

Twice this season I’ve had the chance to share lots of plants.

First my friend Mary wanted to fill in some empty spaces in her flower beds.

She moved a few of her things around.

Divided some hostas

And dug from my garden.

Ferns, Gloriosas, Purple Coneflowers, Larkspur.

And a Rosebush which had a Helianthus growing up the middle.

Then last weekend Megan came.

Megan & her trunk full of plants

She got here as I was finishing up the big dahlia dig.

So she got a bit of this and a bit of that.

Ferns, Stella d’ Ora Daylilies, a mystery Day lily,

Two pieces that fell off one the Blushing Bride Hydrangeas.

They are real babies, but patience will reward her.

More Gloriosa Daisies, Purple Coneflowers, tall garden Phlox and Larkspur.

A Butterfly Bush

Dahlia tubers

Tiger lily bulbs that appeared in the mail without being ordered.

And volunteer Hellebores – which I’ve never had to offer before.

Then we hit the leftover seeds for more goodies.

We dug

And visited

And laughed

And remembered our “professional” gardening days together.

During her Junior High and High School days.

It gives new meaning to sharing.

Sharing gardens

Sharing lives.

The timing was perfect

Just as the Larkspur was hitting full stride.

Larkspur & Friend

The Larkspur growing from seeds given to me by Sally

Who got it from her mother.

Generations of plants ago.

Life is good.

Gardening makes it even better!

Gail

1 Comment

Filed under Dahlias, Ferns, Gardening, Gloriosa Daisy, HELIANTHUS, Hellebores, Hosta, Purple Coneflower - Echinacea, Seeds, Tall Garden Phlox, Uncategorized

May 13, 2012 · 12:51 pm

MOVING DAY

The Dahlias didn’t put on their usual show last fall.

Perhaps it was the hot summer.

More likely it’s the shade created by the neighbor’s mulberry tree.

I don’t want the mulberry tree to go away.

It takes me back to my childhood.

On our way to church in late spring

Daddy would stop along a county road

We’d all jump out and start picking and eating mulberries.

For those of you who don’t know mulberries, they stain.

Big time.

So there we would be in our Sunday best.

Standing in a ditch

Eating mulberries.

Mother was fairly laid back about it all.

Thanks for that example, Mom.

Back to Dahlias.

So if I want Dahlias, I’m going to have to move them.

I knew this last fall

When Elliott was home he suggested moving them to the NE corner of the garden house.

Good idea.

But that space was full of plants.

So first I moved the Digitalis – Foxglove to the other side of the garden house.

Then I dumped lots of compost to settle in for the winter.

Earlier this spring I moved the Aloha roses to their new home across the path.

So, yesterday was moving day.

I decided to round the corner, too.

That meant digging up the Butterfly Bush.

I think it’s moving to Megan’s – if she’ll have it.

New Dahlia Bed

Next came digging up the dozen or so Dahlias that survived.

I’ve ordered more – lots more.

Emory Paul – that big glorious dinner plate Dahlia.

Along with Kevin Floodlight – a yellow favorite

Fleurel which is white.

Lilac Time, and the bi-colors of Avignon and Mom’s Special.

Since the ones I dug are of unknown lineage

And the new ones are all complimentary in color.

I just mixed them together.

Except for Emory Paul which creates a backdrop against the garden house.

There is no great trick to planting them.

Bury them about 6 – 8 ” deep like a Daffodil.

You can usually tell which end is up by the blunt end of the old stem.

It will take them a bit to come up

So place a marker by each one you plant.

Dahlias have a growth habit that is well…wild.

To say they need staking is an understatement.

They need staking and caging and anything else you can dream up.

Several years ago I came up with a system that works pretty well.

I use the triangular wire tomato cages you can find at garden centers.

I place them side by side

Alternating them to form a box.

Cover the entire area with cages.

Then stabilize them by connecting them with cable ties.

Now because these are tall heavy blooms

I go one step further.

Lace a 4′ piece of rebar through one side of each cage.

Are you beginning to get the picture!

Now we wait.

Gardening does teach you patience.

Fall will bring amazing results.

Enjoy the week.

Gail

P.S. Here’s what’s showing off this week.

Oakleaf Hydrangea

Amaryllis planted in the garden

4 Comments

Filed under Amaryllis, Compost, Dahlias, Digitalis, Fall, Garden House, Garden Planning, Gardening, Oakleaf Hydrangea, patience, Perennials

November 26, 2011 · 3:28 pm

A DIFFERENT KIND OF “BLACK FRIDAY”

Thanksgiving Weekend.

I love the slow pace of this 4 day weekend.

At least the way it used to be.

Before Black Friday came along.

For me, I simply can’t get into the retail version of the day.

So yesterday I had a different kind of “Black Friday”.

I spent the day in the garden.

Digging in God’s great black earth.

Things are winding down in my garden.

Almost to a crawl.

But there is always something to do.

Megan and I are still trying to get our scheduled afternoon of bulb planting.

Because it’s getting a little late in the season

I went ahead and planted everything except the tulips leading to the garden house.

Lilies were the first on my list.

You may remember I’d gone a bit lily crazy on my order this year.

I have 25 mixed Oriental Lilies

They are going on the east side of the garden.

In front of a bank of Yews

Behind the Digitalis bed.

Or should I say the hoped for Digitalis bed.

I plan to try again with them in the spring.

This area lends itself to a trench as opposed to big oval holes.

It’s the same principal though.

Don’t dig a hole for each bulb.

And, because these come out of the ground a bit later.

Be sure and mark them so you won’t dig them up.

The saddest sound in the garden is a shovel slicing a lily bulb

Or a daffodil….or tulip…or dahlia.

I know I’ve sliced them all.

Then off to plant Trumpet Lilies.

These are golds, yellows and whites to fill in what I all ready have.

Next came the tulips that Debra gave me.

She selected black (Queen of the Night), white ( Maureen) and orange (Daydream)

For her dad’s garden.

So she gave me a few in memory of my dad.

Both of them taught at OSU during their “second careers”

So it is fitting.

Then, I never can resist Parrot tulips.

This year I’m doing Rai a purple and green with a touch of white.

And Blumex – kind of pink and orange.

Now, I know, most of you finished your bulbs weeks ago

And you are likely pulling your Christmas decorations out of the attic today.

But…there is still a bit more to do.

The pumpkin tower I’ve had in the front pot

Is well…over.

So I buried a few daffodils in a plastic pot.

Actually I did the lasagna method but with all daffodils.

Then I buried the pot within the pot.

This is important because my front pot sits right out in the open.

Lots of cold air swirling around it all winter long.

The double layer of pots will provide a little insulation.

I covered it with pansies.

We’ll see what kind of winter we have.

And how they survive.

I likely have another day or two in the garden this season

The afore-mentioned garden house tulips

and I’m still hoping to move that rose bush.

Though it is likely too late.

Normally by this time of the year I’m ready to be done.

But not this year.

I’m enjoying these days of digging.

Winter is closing in.

But for now

Fall is still with us.

Who could ask for anything more.

Here are the last of the season’s flowers.

Still blooming happily.

Take care,

Gail

2 Comments

Filed under Daffodils, Dahlias, Digitalis, Fall, Garden House, Gardening, Oriental Lilies, Trumpet Lily, tulips

Tagged as Trumpet Lily

October 21, 2011 · 2:36 am

DAHLIA FEVER

Dahlias are the showiest flower I grow.

They come late in the season here.

Imagine their tubers growing silently in the ground all season.

Waiting patiently for everything else to have its moment in the sun.

Then, just when you think it’s too hot and tired for anything else to happen

Dahlias bloom.

And bloom.

It’s no small bloom.

The giant dinner plate Dahlias are just that.

Giant.

The size of your head giant.

Kevin Floodlight Dinner Plate Dahlia

Who can resist growing flowers that big.

Certainly not me.

And now I seem to have hooked Elliott and Kristina.

They have wonderful Dahlias growing against their neighbor’s garage wall.

I’ve had a Dahlia bed ever since we moved here.

This garden had the perfect place.

A skinny spot near the fence where the garden’s edge curves.

And so it was that first spring I ordered Dahlias.

Way too many Dahlias.

All of them the giant dinner plate variety.

For years they have supplied me with drama for fall arrangements.

White and burgandy dahlias with Belinda's dream roses and green hydrangea

People literally gasp when they see them.

September arrangement for church

But not so much now.

The neighbor’s Mulberry tree and a Redbud that John’s planted in the back of my garden

Are now shading both ends.

So it’s time to move.

The Dahlias that is.

When Elliott was here last month we found a new location.

The east side of the garden house

Dahlia's future home

It gets full sun till the middle of the afternoon.

And there seems to be nothing growing in its direction.

So it should stay sunny for years.

It’s at the back of the garden.

So it can provide support for the taller than anything else in the garden plants.

The problem is.

It’s all ready full of plants.

So my big fall project is to find homes for everything there.

And move as many of them as possible.

I began with the Digitalis.

I’ve transplanted all of them to the south side of the arbor.

They seems to be happy.

It actually rained shortly after they were transplanted.

Zinnias and Cockscomb are blooming there now.

They will simply be pulled up at the end of the season.

The biggest part of the project is the large Aloha Rose.

I brought it from my previous garden.

So it’s accustomed to being dug up.

I’ve found a new home for it on the other side of the path.

This is good for many reasons.

Not the least of which is the fact that with roses on both sides of the path

I often do a zig zag as I walk through to avoid the thorns on long rose canes.

I’m hoping to get it moved this fall.

But will wait a bit since it’s finally blooming.

I’d like to enjoy a few more blooms before I start digging.

After the rose is moved I’ll cover the area with manure and compost.

I’ll work it in a bit to allow it to further break down over the winter.

Come spring it will be a rich home for Dahlias.

Now the only question remaining is when to dig the old Dahlias.

Technically, I should dig them every fall since they are only hardy to zone 8.

But…my little zone 6b – 7 garden has kept them warm for years without digging.

If I dig them now I have to keep them someplace cool and dry this winter.

I think I’ll give it a try because….

Guess what I want to plant in their now semi-shady location.

I’ve been seeing some new varieties in my garden catalogs.

What else…

HYDRANGEAS!!

Enjoy the sunshine,

Gail

Sandpaper Hands

I can tell it’s spring because by Saturday night my hands felt like sandpaper.

I know I should wear gloves but just can’t seem to keep them on.

Just need to get my hands in the soil – really in the soil.

And that’s what I did this weekend – all weekend.

It was, for me, the first long gardening weekend.

Actually, it began on Thursday evening in the front yard.

I went out to stake down the daffodil leaves and Torry, Cassidy and Sloane from next door pitched in.

Daffodil leaves need to die all the way back in order to feed the bulb and bloom for next year.

This takes awhile and can be not so pretty in the process.

I used to braid them and stake them down which is lovely.

Or it was until Megan and I succeeded in edging all my loooooong beds in daffodils.

It would simply take forever.

So instead I take leaves in each hand, twist them around each other, tuck the ends in and stake them down.

The stakes are made by cutting the ends from a wire clothes hanger with wire cutters.

Just make one cut on the bottom to save your hands.

They work great and are free – except for the Advil you’ll need to get your hands back in shape.

You can also use landscape cloth stakes.

By Saturday the real fun began.

I spent most of the day in the shady part of my garden.

Ferns have been sending out runners all winter and were popping up everywhere.

So I spread the joy a bit transplanting them to other shady areas.

Then new Digitalis, Astilbe and Bleeding Heart were added.

Digitalis is really not known to like my house but I keep trying.

Because they like an acid soil, last fall I added a few pecan shells and leaves to the soil and today I added a bit of lime.

I’ll keep you posted.

The good news is that Belinda’s Dream roses are looking great – considering.

Hopefully, I’ll at least have fall roses and they may still surprise me this spring.

And speaking of bloom the Japanese Tree Peony bloomed this morning.

I’ve put this poor plant through two moves and once sliced it in half with a shovel.

This year it’s full of buds and blooms – proving that patience does pay of.

Nature teaches us to be patient if we will listen.

Dahlias are some of my favorite flowers.

They are fall blooming so they are one of the last things to come out of the ground in the spring.

Technically, they should not overwinter in this zone but they often do so I don’t dig them in the fall.

Come spring it’s always a guess to see what holes I’ll need to fill in.

So this year I came up with a new plan.

The tubers arrived this week and today I planted them in pots.

They can begin to grow in the pot and when I know what is or is not coming back I can fill in with new ones.

Hopefully, I’ll be ahead of the game – we’ll see.

The rest of today was filled with transferring tomatoes into bigger pots.

I won’t put them out until later on in the month so this should give them more space to form more roots.

The weekend ended as it began.

Torry, Cassidy and Sloane returned.

This time we planted fescue in basket liners for their Easter baskets.

It’s easy.

Fill the liner about half full of moist potting soil. Cover with a solid coating of fescue seeds.

Then add a light coat of potting soil and water with a gentle spray.

Keep in a sunny window and spray to keep moist.

In 10 to 14 days you’ll have a bed of real grass for all those Easter eggs.

Tulips are beginning to wane so I’ll end with small pictures of the ones that remain and other joys of spring.

Enjoy the week.

Gail

Category Archives: Dahlias

DAHLIAS

PASS ALONG PLANTS

MOVING DAY

A DIFFERENT KIND OF “BLACK FRIDAY”

DAHLIA FEVER

Sandpaper Hands

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