October in the dahlia garden

Although Friday was a stunningly perfect Fall day, the weekend forecast called for rain. By the time I made it home Friday evening the clouds had started to roll in. I decided I had time to make it down to the garden before dark fell and do some serious dahlia bloom cutting. I thought that it would be a shame to have all those beautiful blooms get wet, have their stems snap under that weight and be ruined. So with buckets in hand I headed down and picked. And picked. And picked. The garden was loaded with what will probably be the last really nice blooms of the year. When I got back to the house I created one bouquet with pink/white/purple colors and another large bouquet with yellows/reds/oranges. The second was my favorite and I placed it on our kitchen island next to another sign of the season. My decision to pick was a good one. Saturday brought rain showers but today it rained heavily from 9-2. Afterwards the rain gauge showed 1.1 inches had fallen.

I also realized that I took some nice pictures of the dahlia garden on October 1st and never got around to posting them. So here we go! One way to approach my garden is on the "secret path". After crossing the creek, the path goes by the back of the garden before winding around to the front side and the blue entry gate. I like this back view. It really gives me a different perspective on the garden.

Inside the garden it is all about color! The dahlias are really at their peak right now. The blooms are getting a bit smaller then they were a month ago, but there are many more blooms. It is frustrating to have all of the weed seeds sprouting. If you look back at photos 6 weeks ago, the garden was perfectly- not a weed in sight. But then the rains came and the germinating took place- darn it!

"Dagmar" an A sized incurved cactus form in orange. A new variety for me this year and I just love it.

"Vassio Meggos" an A sized Formal Decorative in lavender. Shaped like an enormous lavender basketball.

"Sorbet". I didn't get many blooms off of this plant this year, but those that I did get were incredible. This dahlia really has benefited from all of the rain and overcast days that we have had this Summer and Fall. The color has been so much crisper and sharper than it normally is for me in warm, sunny weather. I guess the rain has been good for something!