Tag: Dahlias

Sweet Violets

On By CathIn Flowers, Wildlife5 Comments

Instead of a vase I have a tiny cup this week. It is one my grandmother used to give me with a rare cup of sweet tea when I was little, so I’ve placed it on a string table mat she made. The violets have such short little stems this cup is perfect for them.

Even this tiny cupful casts a strong scent.

I planted violets on top of my dahlias and put rocks around them to protect them from random spades and hungry pheasants while they are dormant in winter. As it happens, they are fairly obvious because they push up out of the ground, and I usually leave a bit of stem when I cut them back. The violets get enough sun to flower in winter, and shade all summer while it’s hot.

Violets growing over dahlias in winter

Luckily the pheasants don’t go to the lengths they will go to get sweet potatoes and don’t normally dig up a whole clump. They seem to be a handy starch in winter, not tasty enough to bother with in summer. Even so, they can do quite a bit of damage eating the above ground tubers, leaving a way in for slugs when they are finished.

Dahlia bulbs eaten by pheasants and invaded by slugs

This particular dahlia is big and bright crimson and incredibly prolific. (I got it originally from a big clump of tubers left at our local dump) I love it, but there are only so many places where a big red dahlia will fit in, so I don’t begrudge the pheasants if they do a bit of growth control on this one.

The dump dahlia in summer.

I love to see the big boy pheasant stalking around on the lawn, making a show of patrolling while the girls hide in the garden. He is shy, and walks quickly away, trying not to run, if I come out while he is there. So it may take a while for me to get a photo of him.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting this meme and here is the link to ‘Sunshine on a Cloudy Day’ in a vase on Monday.

chrysanthemums salvia cut flowers

In a Vase on Monday, one month apart

On By CathIn Country Garden, Flowers, Photography, Vegetable Garden, Weather and Seasons19 Comments

It’s a month since I brought home flowers. Time is ripping past and there is so much to do on the house, in the garden, and at work that there just doesn’t seem to be time.
fruit and flowers with pumpkin
But yesterday I decided to pick some Mother’s day flowers for a close friend.
So here are last month’s flowers and yesterday’s flowers.
fall flowers and pumpkinsChrysanthemums are flowering now, the last of the pumpkins are inside, and the anemones are almost gone.
anemone roses and dahlias cut flowersWeirdly, I found the first of the Paper Whites flowering yesterday – although the weather is unseasonably warm.

vase of red and pink dahlias

Last Splash – In a Vase on Monday

On By CathIn Flowers, Light and dark, Photography23 Comments

The hot weather goes on and with it the dahlias. The bees are in the asters and the salvia, luckily there is a lot of it – this salvia leucantha grows willingly. I was going to say ‘like a weed’, but it doesn’t really, you have to plant it and then it grows where you put it.
dahlia akita
The dahlias are Akita, Profundo, the white and lemon grown from seed, and another pink one ‘Dark Horse’, which I thought I had lost.
dahlias akita and profundo
We are in the throes of harvesting, and have bottled another 19 pints of tomato puree tonight to add to the 3 or 4 dozen already put away, so it’s late and time to sleep. Congratulations to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for 6 years of blogging, and thank you for hosting IAVOM.

single pink miniature dahlia

In a Vase on Monday – Pink Posy with Roses and Dahlias

On By CathIn Flowers, Photography, Summer bulbs25 Comments

Right, these are more favourite Dahlias. Dahlia Profundo is the darker pink one. It’s not a big dahlia, but the little pink single is really tiny; it’s tubers are tiny too. It was a favourite of C’s mum, given to me by his aunt. Although it’s so small it has real presence, with the fully open flowers standing straight up and facing outward.
pink dahlias and roses in a vase

Continue reading “In a Vase on Monday – Pink Posy with Roses and Dahlias” →

dahlia bud

In a Vase on Monday – Phormium and Dahlias, Orange and Yellows

On By CathIn Flowers, Photography27 Comments

Often I only notice flax flowers when the Tuis are drinking the nectar, but this one is from a pot by the door of the greenhouse, so the deep orange of the flowers and the dark brown-purple stem caught my eye. It’s unfortunately disappearing into the background in my photo.
flowers in a vase
The single Dahlias with dark leaves are a mix of Keith Hammett Dahlias and their children. The bees love them the best, so I rarely pick them.

Continue reading “In a Vase on Monday – Phormium and Dahlias, Orange and Yellows” →

Red Dahlia Macro

In a Vase on Monday – Dahlias Again

On By CathIn Flowers, Photography25 Comments

I know this is repetitive, but the Akita Dahlias are doing amazingly well, and I had to rescue them from the lawnmower chewing them up for flopping onto the path. Here are a few different ages of flower, mixed with the dark red dahlias rescued from the dump. You can see how they get more yellow as they age, losing the contrast between the creamy tips of the petals and the dark base.
Red Dahlias in a vase

Continue reading “In a Vase on Monday – Dahlias Again” →

Cactus dahlia flowers

In a Vase on Monday – Dahlias

On By CathIn Flowers, Photography12 Comments

I’ve been madly busy with work and fruit and vegetables and weeds so it’s actually Tuesday, Waitangi Day here in New Zealand. This lovely coral pink dahlia showed up a week ago and I haven’t been able to find out what it is. I think I bought it a couple years ago and planted it in a place which was too shady, and then moved it last year. It’s obviously happy in full sun and new soil.
Dahlia flower and fruit
Akita when it’s like this is the Dahlia I wanted – half open I like it – I don’t like it so much when it gets full open and huge. The plums are Louisa and Satsuma, which I am drying for winter snacks.
dahlia flowers Akita
Early Spring flowers are starting to show up in the Northern Hemisphere vases, which coincides with shortening days here and thoughts of bulb planting. Check them out at Rambling in the Garden.

Dark Purple Hydrangea

Welcome Flowers in a Vase on Monday

On By CathIn Flowers, Photography, Weather and Seasons25 Comments

Within hours my Mom will be here from the cold and snow of Canada, and I’ve picked some Dahlias, Thalictrum, and Hydrangeas for her. The Dahlias haven’t done all that well so far this year – the early hot dry spell followed by rainy weather at Christmas has left them a little tattered, but there is plenty of time left for better blooms.

vase of dark red dahlias and purple hydrangeas
Continue reading “Welcome Flowers in a Vase on Monday” →

pink dahlias Profundo and Dark Horse cut flowers

In a Vase on Monday – Pink Dahlias

On By CathIn Flowers, Photography17 Comments

I have a quite a few dahlias now, I keep digging them up and spreading them around. These two are new though, and I thought they were particularly pretty and not quite so loud as many of the others. Dahlia ‘Profundo’ is the closer one, and ‘Dark Horse’ is in the background. They are paired up with Salvia leucantha and Indigo Spires.

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting IAVOM every week.