Do you have a television show that you love, but have to watch all on your own? That program that none of your family members can stand. I must confess that I love British gardening shows. My family on the other hand finds these programs to be too much of a snore for their tastes. Nevertheless, if I can find time, I love watching a few of these programs on Netflix.
I was watching one of my gardening shows when the host and garden expert Monty Don was talking to an overwhelmed homeowner about their garden plans when he asked a simple and yet insightful question: what is it that you grow that has you wanting to be outdoors? What plant or flower would have you out working in the cold or watering and weeding in the heat?
Plan a garden around the flowers or plants you love and suddenly it doesn’t feel like work. I have two types of flowers that I grow in my garden that are for me pure joy. One are tulips, but the others are Dahlias. Their late summer blooms are at their peak in my garden each September. When summer flowers begin to fade Dahlias will keep blooming until the frost comes. This year I decided to turn an empty, but sunny spot where we had lost a tree into something new. Instead of planting a tree I made a flower bed for Dahlias. I planted my bulbs this May and now they have grown into something beautiful.
Lavender Perfection is probably my favorite their large purple blooms are gorgeous. I have planted these for the last two years and I have been impressed by how easy they were to grow from a bulb. They can get a bit top heavy and might need support from a garden steak but their repeat blooms are worth the effort.
This Hawaii Dahlia is a new variety that I tried some of the blooms were more yellow and fuchsia while others of the same variety were white and pink. They are a bit smaller, but I love their vibrant colors.
The Lake Tahoe dahlia has an amazing coral color with just a touch of yellow. It reminds me of a pretty sunrise.
I also planted these little orange beauties called Noordwijk’s Glorie.
Finally, more fuchsia with these Le Baron Dahlias. I love that bit of chartreuse green at their center.
The very best part of having a small garden bed filled with these gorgeous blooms is the bouquets you can make to enjoy indoors as well.
So what do you love to grow? I would love to know. Is there something that brings you joy? Plant a garden or just fill a window box or a pot or two. Because as Don wisely noted “A garden is not a place. It’s a journey.” So find a way to surround yourself with something absolutely beautiful. Gardening has a way of keeping me grateful. Because as I marvel at natures awesome beauty its hard not to smile.
Want more gorgeous dahlia’s then check out English designer Ben Pentreath and his garden designer husband Charlie McCormick’s picturesque autumn garden.
