surprise in a bag

It seems that my gardens have gotten a bit out of control. . .
so I hired out.
I said. . ."hey there lad. . .I'll swap you cookies for hoeing"
He said. . ."uh huh"
Whilst he worked his little hoe. . .
I hung about. . .asking him if he was blog shy .. .
He said. . ."uh uh". . .
I took that as a negative.
We got along just fine the little gardener and I. . . .
until Gampa came along and then it was game over. . . .
No worries. . .they both bribe easily to be my friend with cookies.


Early this spring I purchased several bags of dahlia roots.


I carefully planned the colors to coordinate with the roses and the lily.


I planned them all in pinks. ..


and surprise. . .


Sunshine Yellow with Red Tiger Stripes. . ..

Huge flowers with lots of spunk I'd say.



This bud is still unfolding. . .


It's diameter is that of a drinking glass. . .


I'm excited.



OH .. .and these little girls are keeping a secret in the center.


I keep waiting for them to fully open. . .


but whatever is in the center of them. .


they are keeping close to their hearts.



This red beauty. . .teased me a bit. . ."look at us. . .we have pinkish petals on the outside".


I've developed a new fascination with dahlias.


Next year I have an iris bed that is going to be rudely uprooted.

(I've already hired up a gardener and a wee assistant he has)


I'm going to go to the store .. .


close my eyes. . .


grab several bags in the dahlia section. . .


and plant them. . .


with one eye closed.


Shall we all?


All for now. . .



Comments

  1. I fell in love with the huge dahlias that grew in Alaska and BC...they were enormous! Yours are so pretty! I don't think you can have too many!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your dahlias are beautiful!! I love flowers and always thought they take a lot of care so never ventured into dahlias. Maybe the reward is worth the work!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. lovely dahlias...one of my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love dahlias too. Yours are beauties. I don't have any right now. May give it some consideration.
    QMM

    ReplyDelete
  5. So many dahlias......so little time/space. The Great Dane plants some every year, and every year we lose a whole lot to the deer - but not this year! I've been filling vases with dahlias for the past two weeks - gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm smiling...since I too planted dahlias for the first time this spring. They came from my sister...unlabeled...and I planted them 'blindly'...and am enjoying the surprises as they open. I rather like your idea about replacing the irises with dahlias...except maybe in early May. Hmmm.

    I could use a little gardening help these days as well...and such handsome help as you have would be most welcome.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That will be a fun surprise to look forward to...
    Your photos are beautiful of your Dahlias and your gardener is so cute!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The bigger the dahlia the better! And the cute green crab like spiders that seem to always show up on the blossoms are cool too.

    I read you haven't been to Butchard Gardens since you were in high school. The dahlia gardens there are world class! Maybe it is time for another trip over there, as part of your Jubilee Year celebrations.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Seeing how you love dahlia's as much as I do I;m going to suggest you go up to Ferncliff Gardens in Mission. It's a great little outing.
    They have a fabulous show garden which is in full bloom right now and you can pick from it the tubers
    you want to plant in spring. It is really quite stunning.
    There are fields of them all around the estate. They also have peonies in the spring to see.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful dahlias! I love the yellow with the stipes! This shows that we can do the planning but in the end God's color schemes are better!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am simply not a gardener. wish I were, but just no time. Love yours, though, and wish I could "hire out!" C

    ReplyDelete
  12. We just went to ferncliff gardens on Saturday. It was incredible! We went with Lance's family as Lance's dad is a dahlia grower and has ordered from ferncliff. It would be a great date!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've always loved dahlias. My grandmother grew them and then my uncle continued the tradition. Perhaps I should, too...

    ReplyDelete
  14. That tiger dahlia is just gorgeous!!! Dahlias are lovely flowers. An old man we knew in Scotland grew lots of them every year and it was so fun to go and admire his garden.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beeeautiful! Dahlias are one of my favourite flowers. Even if they aren't what you planned they are gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  16. For the last few years I have had a real fascination with Dahlias. I had three plants called "Dinner Plate"dahlias that were bright yellow. I marveled at their beauty. Have fun next year seeing what blooms. Yours are beautiful!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you!