loving my french dahlias

by Sharon Santoni

Today I continue on my crusade to win you all over to the humble dahlia.  And no, before you ask, I am not paid to write this piece by a Royal Order of Dahlia Producers, or anybody else actually – just wanting to share my new found love for this old-fashioned flower.

The photos are of some of the dahlias in my garden this year.  I just love the way you can bury the bulbs in April and let them do their thing – a sort of ‘launch and forget’ plant!

The only vital care is to provide strong tutors to prevent the heavy heads bringing the plants down to the ground.

I have my favourites, but as you can see from the first picture, it takes all sorts to create a bouquet, and the smaller varieties are certainly most useful for that.

Voilà!  So tell me, have I converted you?  And do they grow well in your part of the world?

Tell me please, I’d love to know 🙂

63 comments

Ms Lemon of Make Mine Lemon September 5, 2013 - 8:40 am

These are just gorgeous. Your cutting garden must be wonderful. Today at the market they were stocking huge bundles in every color. I should have taken a photo.

Reply
Jenni September 5, 2013 - 8:41 am

Dahlias definitely have a place in the Autumn garden. In the particular part of Australia where I live (Central Victoria) we have a festival dedicated to them. It is a Dahlia and Arts Festival with a parade and all kinds of displays. Obviously as we are just coming into Spring, it is a way off but always worth the wait. After the heat of our summer, the dahlias always put on a special show just when you begin to think nothing will flower again.

Reply
Linda Carswell September 5, 2013 - 9:01 am

The first photo is stunning, these flowers are not a favorite of mine….but I think you have converted me…..BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

Reply
manuela carvalho September 5, 2013 - 9:11 am

Amazing post! Hugs. Manuela

Reply
Anonymous September 5, 2013 - 9:16 am

Hi Sharon I have been looking at the new garden catalogue, they do have a good variety of Dahlias there is one called Henri Matisse which looks quite nice and another called Villandry absolutely beautiful, looks like you have helped make up my mind to give Dahlias another try, the last lot were killed with neglect. Thank you for sharing your beautiful flowers. Regards Esther from Sydney. PS if you ever find a minute to spare have a look at this nursery online http://www.gardenexpress.com.au

Reply
Maria López Dóriga September 5, 2013 - 9:20 am

¡¡¡¡¡¡Maravillosas dalias y magníficas fotos, enhorabuena!!!

Reply
Piera September 5, 2013 - 10:04 am

Bellissimo bouquet, adoro le dalie!!!! in primavera le pianterò anch'io, complimenti per le fotografie
Piera

Reply
Anna-Mari September 5, 2013 - 10:25 am

Oh yes you did! I always thought they are too much granny flowers and didn't like them… Well, to my big surprise this spring I bought a few! Similiar to those in the second last picture. I think they are really nice, and now after seeing your pics… I HAVE TO GET MORE! 🙂 I am going to try and save them till next year in my cellar. And if they are ok in spring I will buy a few more.

Reply
Marijke September 5, 2013 - 12:03 pm

Great pictures of the sweet pink Dahlia's!
groetjes van Marijke (Netherlands)

Reply
Barbara September 5, 2013 - 12:51 pm

My dear Sharon~ oh my ……you've hit another heart-string!!! I ADORE dahlia's and have had a cutting garden full of them until this year. However, I had never fund that lovely one you have we think is Cafe au Lait!!! It is sublime!!! I could look at it all day!!! I usually purchased from a firm that saves old bulbs from distinction. They haven't had it, however I found it on several other sites. Your colour combinations are gloriuos……I love the soft Colours though sometimes it's fun to grow the bright, bold summer colors too.
Once again, you have made the start to my day special ~ Thank You!!! Hope your day is going well!!!! xxxxx B.

Reply
Beth Francis September 5, 2013 - 1:07 pm

I have long read your blog and the 1st time I have commented They are simply stunning
Beth x

Reply
Barbara September 5, 2013 - 1:16 pm

This comment has been removed by the author.

Reply
Cindy Rippe September 5, 2013 - 1:41 pm

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing. This morning I'm going to the botanic garden to take pictures of the flowers grown by the local Dahila Club. Your post was a perfect start to the day.

Reply
JeanFB September 5, 2013 - 2:04 pm

I adore the variety in the 3rd and last photos – the blush of pink in the center of creamy petals. And yes, maybe they are the new peony, as in a previous post (or at least a substitute when peonies aren't in bloom). Gorgeous photography and gorgeous flowers. Thanks for starting my day with such beauty!

Reply
La Table De Nana September 5, 2013 - 2:52 pm

The first looks like a still life painting.
I wish Icould grow them….
Earwigs feast on them..:(
They are spectacularly photogenic.

Reply
Mise September 5, 2013 - 3:12 pm

Sharon, have you met Amanda of Small Acorns, who is the Dahlia Queen of the other hemisphere?
https://smallacornsnz.blogspot.ie/

Reply
I Dream Of September 5, 2013 - 3:23 pm

No need to convert me, Sharon, I love dahlias! I honestly don't know what I would do without their cheerful faces at the flower market this time of year when so many other summer favorites have come and gone. Yours are spectacular. I especially love the delicate blush shades. Thanks for the virtual bouquet! XO

Reply
hopflower September 5, 2013 - 3:58 pm

I already grow them; and they do quite well where I live.

Reply
Kellie from Indiana September 5, 2013 - 4:16 pm

I bought mine late spring at a discount store and planted them. They are still blooming, and actually the only thing still blooming out there as everything else is winding down. Very happy with my clearance sale purchase. Yours are stunningly beautiful, enjoy!

Reply
Wild Oak Designs September 5, 2013 - 5:02 pm

I love dahlias! Are these yours?? Stunningly beautiful! Do you dig them up each year? or do you let them come back?
Nancy

Reply
Laura September 5, 2013 - 5:13 pm

I just love dahlias and yours are spectacular. I've tried to grow them but we have a very active mole/vole population here in my part of Virginia and they eat the tubers right up. No flower market to buy them either so I'll just have to enjoy your pictures.

Reply
Elena September 5, 2013 - 6:17 pm

Gorgeous! Yes, I'm converted. Your floral garden collection is amazing!

Reply
Jennifer Clark September 5, 2013 - 6:22 pm

Ah, that last photo is especially gorgeous! I'll need to plant some of these this Fall. My whole garden just looks so sad from all the heat we've had here on the Central Coast of California. My poor roses look positively fried! My m-i-l, who lives in a cooler climate has started growing dahlias. She's been out of town for quite a while, so I haven't seen her garden lately, but hopefully when she returns next week, she'll have a few blooming.

Thanks for the lovely flowers!

Reply
Antique Homes and Lifestyle September 5, 2013 - 6:24 pm

I have fond memories of Dahlias. My Dad always planted them and his were usually a deep Merlot color. Just stunning in a landscape.

Reply
The enchanted home September 5, 2013 - 6:34 pm

Just love your flowers…Sharon, you need a book and I would be first in line to buy it!

Reply
Tessa September 5, 2013 - 9:14 pm

You have "converted" me!

But I don't know if they grow well, in our upper NE of the US region.

But we do love "Old Flowers," so we must look into dahlias. 🙂

Tessa~

Reply
La Vie Quotidienne September 5, 2013 - 9:38 pm

I love them and grow a few but you have definitely inspired my to add many more. I would love to know the names of these, particularly the soft pink ones.
They are so spectacular!

Reply
welltraveled September 5, 2013 - 10:23 pm

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Reply
Anonymous September 6, 2013 - 1:03 am

You've done it. I never knew they could be as beautiful as those with the soft, subtle colors. Of course, you have a way of arranging and photographing that is so…old world and artistic. I don't know how else to put it.

~Margaret

Reply
Castles Crowns and Cottages September 6, 2013 - 1:22 am

They are just lovely, Sharon! Anita

Reply
Lou from The Enchanting Forest September 6, 2013 - 2:48 am

Simply stunning colours!

Reply
Magnolia Verandah September 6, 2013 - 3:35 am

If you weren't a convert you would be after seeing these spectacular photos. I love them.

Reply
Karen Albert September 6, 2013 - 4:31 am

Dear Sharon I have always loved Dahlias, I just have not planted them for awhile…..you have brought their beauty back to me!

xoxo
Karena
Feature: Entrepreneur Sigal Sasson

Reply
mariondee-designs September 6, 2013 - 4:37 am

You've converted me! I got one as a freebie last year with some peonies I ordered online and it outdid them by far. Even though it was red, not my colour, it was just gorgeous and flowered forever! I'm definately off now to order some pretty pinks and lavender ones… take care, Maryann

Reply
Anonymous September 6, 2013 - 6:34 am

Yes, you have converted me. I am a big gardener and have rarely planted these. But I will look for some of the gentle, subtle, exquisite ones you have featured. THOSE I would be proud to grow!!

Reply
Colleen Taylor September 6, 2013 - 7:07 am

No need to win me over, I've always loved this graceful soft tuft of a flower. I don't believe they would grow here but now you've got me on a task to find out. Lovely, spectacular stunning post Sharon. XO

Reply
Emm September 6, 2013 - 7:40 am

Your flowers are simply lovely. I've always thought dahlias were a bit gaudy, but these soft colors are beautiful, I'm becoming a dahlia convert.

Reply
Greet Lefèvre September 6, 2013 - 10:04 am

Just gorgeous!!!
xx
Greet

Reply
Kim@spiritedmsms September 6, 2013 - 11:24 am

Simply beautiful. You must have had a lot of fun shooting those lovely flowers, kim

Reply
My Little Bungalow September 6, 2013 - 12:13 pm

Sharon, your photographs are stunning. What beautiful quality. They show off the dahlias so well. No need to "win me over" as I've been a fan of dahlias for years. We have them in our garden here in the southeastern US. The only complaint is that they must be staked, which can be a pain. One of our plants this year grew more than 6 feet tall. I've photographed them for my blog — they make great subjects.
Claudia

Reply
Sammy September 6, 2013 - 12:20 pm

Beautiful!! I would love to have a room in those colors!

Reply
david terry September 6, 2013 - 12:33 pm

Oh,Sharon….surely you remember (if not, give yourself the treat of watching it) that marvellously funny scene in the movie "A Room With a View" in which the hapless mother (who has NO idea of what to do with either of her distressingly precocious children, both of whom are about 20 and at least ominally "adults") is caught out in the dahlia-bed…..frantically trying to tie up the plants during a sudden thunder/windstorm.

Every plant flops over or breaks disastrously just as soon as she's moved on to attempting to tie-up another one…..and her daughter (the Helena Bonham Carter character) is suddenly there, unloading her own personal difficulties….etcetera.

It's all a perfect metaphor for TRYING to be The Good Mother, capable of fixing things, and listening sympathetically, and
TRYING to do everything at once, and doing it all competently….while everything goes straight to merry hell around her, courtesy of forces no mother ( and no one, for that matter) can control.

Any dahlia-fan or harrassed mother will sigh in empathy at that scene from the movie….

David Terry
http://www.davidterryart.com

Somehow (in that scene, at least) the futile struggle remains comic.

Reply
SALLY September 6, 2013 - 3:26 pm

I live in Texas where only weed-type flowers grow. In my next life, I'll live where I can grow dahlias and peonies!
Gorgeous post –thanks.

Reply
La Contessa September 6, 2013 - 3:43 pm

NO!To answer your question……..I plant them every year and the ones this year are pathetic looking!Walked by last eve and said to myself ,"THATS IT!"No more………I adore them too!I have over 265 roses however, and they do bring me joy!I do not know what I do wrong!Any suggestions????

Reply
Sheree September 6, 2013 - 6:20 pm

Dahlias thrive here. I love your pale pink color.

Reply
Sharon September 6, 2013 - 11:39 pm

I love dahlias and yours are just stunning

Reply
Shell B September 7, 2013 - 2:57 am

I am converted! and I will be ordering some from the nursery this week. I will have to wait and see how they go, not sure if they'll like our climate but they are worth trying anyway 🙂

Reply
Roxane September 7, 2013 - 2:45 pm

This summer I planted "Peaches 'n Cream" Dahlias in the pots around our pool, but not a single one has bloomed so far! The way the temperatures have been dropping into the 30s this past week, I'm not sure that they will even get a chance to bloom, so disappointing. But not discouraging, lol. Last night I "shopped" through White Flower Farm's selection of Dahlias and picked out quite a few for notification when they restock for next Spring. Seeing the amazing array of Dahlias in bloom at Giverny last September was quite an experience for me! While I loved the bold, bright colors there, I think the pale, soft blush Dahlias from your garden have definitely made a convert out of me! Thank you Sharon for showing us these stunning flowers.

Reply
Karen (Back Road Journal) September 7, 2013 - 10:44 pm

Absolutely stunning. Your arrangement looks like a beautiful still life painting.

Reply
Anonymous September 8, 2013 - 9:37 am

Absolutely agree – don't think it can be bettered! So soothing just to look at…..great accomplishment with bouquets and photography!

Reply
Virginia Guilenea September 8, 2013 - 1:48 pm

I like your dahlias, your home and i love your beautiful blog!
Congratulations!

Reply
cocoquilts September 9, 2013 - 1:03 am

Your dahlias are gorgeous!!! I just started growing them this year and I'm in love with them. They are so much easier than the roses that I grow. Looking forward to ordering new colors for next year. Love, Love your beautiful pics! Thanks for sharing so much beauty! Cheers, Colette

Reply
Debe September 13, 2013 - 9:21 pm

Wish I could grown them here in Texas. The pics are amazing. Wish I could grown peonies but too hot for those also. Too not for me too but at least I don't shovel snow. Just beautiful flowers…

Reply
Debe September 13, 2013 - 9:24 pm

Think my comment was lost. Try again. Beautiful pictures of beautiful flowers. Don't grow in Texas as far as I know. Neither do peonies….sadly. Too hot and humid. Will have to look for cut ones in the stores. Love your blog!

Reply
Online Doctor August 8, 2014 - 1:57 pm

I was curious if you ever thought of changing the structure of your website?
Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.

But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it
better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having
1 or two pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?

Reply
MBBS Abroad August 27, 2019 - 4:03 pm

Hi there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give
a quick shout out and say I truly enjoy reading your articles.
Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same subjects?
Appreciate it!

Reply
the fall table - MY FRENCH COUNTRY HOME September 23, 2019 - 7:58 pm

[…] love for dahlias goes back a long time- read more about why I love them HERE and my tips for growing them HERE […]

Reply
metaeducationindia February 21, 2020 - 8:35 am

fdsfs

Reply
MBBS in Bangladesh August 21, 2020 - 12:29 pm

MBBS in Bangladesh has become one of the good options for students who wish to pursue medical courses.
More Information Visit My Official Website: https://www.careermarg.in/

Reply
Manshita October 31, 2020 - 6:41 am

Nice collection.. keep posting such things if are you looking for MBBS IN CHINA
Plz let us know we will help you out.

Reply
Schuco Aluminium Windows November 27, 2020 - 9:02 am

Replace your old door and window with the latest design door and window in the best price Schuco Aluminium Windows.

Reply
Schuco Aluminium Windows November 27, 2020 - 1:30 pm

Change your home theme with the latest design window and door in the best price Schuco Aluminium Windows.

Reply
ramya May 26, 2021 - 8:13 am

Hey, I came across your article it was so informative. I would like to share a worthy article about the Study in Germany from KCR consultants, this may change your career pathway in Germany.
KCR CONSULTANCY

Reply

Leave a Comment