It's another dahlia on my rusty old grey table this Monday. This is dahlia 'Purple Flame' which is more of a deep rich pink to my eyes. This is the first time I've grown this variety and I have fallen in love with it. Unfortunately I was sent a rather puny specimen so have not had enough of the striking flowers. I hope that it successfully overwinters and bulks up next year but I will also purchase another. It's been a funny old year here for dahlias amongst other things. Not one of the dahlias planted in the garden came through and the one that I planted hasn't flourished at all. Dahlias in pots have done better but the flowers have still struggled and are perhaps not as abundant as usual in their flowering. Mind you it's been a funny old year for a lot of things. Today I was actually delighted to see a dull and cloudy sky when I opened the blinds and we've not seen the sun all day. Hopefully this extremely long hot and dry summer is on the way out. My thoughts are now turning to spring.
Thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her excellent hosting skills. Thanks also to those of you who expressed concern in your comments to my last post. Fortunately we escaped with no serious damage from Storm Floris. As for the on the blink internet connection it was eventually sorted by a BT Openreach engineer. We now have an amazingly much faster connection but found that after his visit that our phone landline isn't working. Not a major issue but one that needs following up very soon.
I may prick out some lunaria and hersperis seeds later but maybe not as there are lot of biting creatures about at the moment. I watched two bats flit about very close to the house last night so maybe there will be fewer creatures about today. I've been leaving this task until the weather cooled down a bit. I also need to get some thoughts together as to what bulbs to order for spring flowering. As usual I've left it until late. Have you ordered your spring bulbs yet? Please tell me that I'm not alone.
That is indeed a pretty dahlia, Anna. Dahlias are one flower you have to see in the flesh to know if you like them, or that's what I feel, anyway. Two of my new varieties are acceptable, but I am still trying to find a purple variety that suits...sigh. It wasn't a cold winter, so was it winter wet that saw off your garden-planted ones? When did you sow your honesty? I have just bought Lunaria rediviva seeds from Chiltern Seeds but they suggest Jan-April for indoor sowing (April-Oct outside), so I haven't sown any but if you have had success I would certainly rather get them sown now
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