Delightful things I learned to grow

I think of gardening as the art of perpetual trial and error. Even when I’m confident about what I’m doing, Nature will sometimes surprise me with something I had no control over, such as soil that contains a little too much of an otherwise necessary acid, or a sudden infestation of caterpillars that I didn’t have last year, or a plant variety that experienced shock over a mere 5 degree temperature drop. Despite these experiences, or perhaps because of them, I listen, learn, empathize, and roll up my sleeves in preparation for the next season. And no matter how much I learn or how hard I work, the fact remains that Mother Nature keeps me humble.

That said, I’m eager to share my recent success with dahlias. These beautiful, geometric flowers in a variety of sizes and colors make me so happy. Though they’re natives of Central America, they’ve been associated with Northern climates for decades. In fact, I think they took quite a long time getting back around to our region 8a. After being discovered by Europeans who were exploring Central America, dahlias came to Europe in the late 1780s as an edible tuber (remember the potato, only these tubers weren’t as popular due to their bitter flavor). This flower went on to become quite a craze among gardeners and became a special addition to the gardens of Empress Josephine, who was one of the earliest in Europe to propagate it for her gardens. For a little history, you can read more on this flower here and there.

Now, for a few shining examples; the Starsister Dahlia featured above is a cheery little dwarf bedding plant that I picked up in my local nursery years ago. The plant grew amazingly well and bloomed all summer long. Most surprisingly, it keeps surviving the heat of the summer. I took it out of its pot and put it into the ground earlier this year – near where it had been happy. I did this so as not to disrupt the microclimate it seems to thrive in. Recently, I purchased a no-name Dahlia tuber from Home Depot. This one was a larger landscape size, but I put it into a large pot near Starsister to duplicate what appeared to be similar growing conditions. Starsister is more heat tolerant, but this dusty pink dahlia is fabulous. I planted more tubers this spring – all in afternoon shade as opposed to the full sun many of these flowers require up north.

My parting words of advice to my gardening friends; plant a few dahlias and stay humble. That way you'll be happily surprised when this beautiful flower blooms. And if it doesn't, there's always next season.