dahlias from the garden

by Sharon Santoni

bouquet of dahlias and greenery

I know of only two good reasons for maintaining my garden: for the view from my window of course, but maybe even more for the immediate pleasure of bringing blooms and colour indoors.

Autumn is slowly closing in around us here in Normandy.    The forest is ablaze with yellows and oranges, but in the   flower beds in my garden there are still some calmer colours this week.

flowers gathered to arrange

As I walked around the garden, secateurs in hand, I knew that I wanted to let the Café au Lait dahlias pop against a darker background.   I’ve often used these dahlias in bouquets, especially with oranges and yellows, so this was a good change.

flowers on table with hat on chair

I gathered black elderflower leaves; cerinthus; sage and blue catmint.   I even found some late flowering Jacob’s ladder, goodness knows what it’s still doing flowering at this late season.  A few darker dahlias for good measure and the deed was quickly done.

bouquet of dahlias and greenery

How about you, are you still enjoying the last flowers of the season, or maybe you are in the southern hemisphere and relishing the spring?  What kind of flowers are you bringing inside this week?

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31 comments

Colleen Taylor October 24, 2016 - 6:54 pm

You always have the most gorgeous flowers in your garden Sharon. No flowers inside for me. I pretty allergic to many of the plants that grow around here so I don’t take a chance. I would love though so I will just look outside my window at them in my courtyard.

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Nancy October 24, 2016 - 7:04 pm

Oh your dahlias are gorgeous! I have tried growing them…..but am not successful…perhaps in this So. Cal area we are just to hot ….
Nancy
wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com

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Linda Mahkovec October 24, 2016 - 7:12 pm

Absolutely lovely! Gorgeous photos, as usual. I love this time of year, and your photos helped to capture the beauty of autumn

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Bettyann Lamott October 24, 2016 - 7:24 pm

Thank you for sharing your lovely flowers.

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Marie October 24, 2016 - 7:27 pm

I too have been gathering the last of the blooms to enjoy indoors, especially thru the grey days if rain here in the Pacific Northwest of Washington. My faves right now are the salmon rosebuds, various shades of rose hollyhock, and the green with burgandy tinged hydrangia. Of course I fill in with my lace leaved red maple and fragrant cologne mint. Your arrangements are beautiful and has inspired me to grow dahlias again next season.
Going out to tackle the leaf raking this a.m.!

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Renee October 24, 2016 - 7:34 pm

Wow!

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Janet October 24, 2016 - 7:42 pm

Not so many miles away from you in the north of Le Pays de la Loire my dahlias are fantastic too. We were back in England for part of August and they suffered from the drought but oh boy when we got back an started giving them huge drinks of water they soon came back to life and have given us the best autumn colour ever. I’ve planted some tall grasses behind them and they have coloured up too and added to the fantastic effect.

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Jeanie October 24, 2016 - 7:42 pm

Beautiful as always. Thank you for letting us share your garden, Sharon!

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Jane Sloan October 24, 2016 - 7:46 pm

Hi Sharon! Cafe au lait are a favorite, so beautiful and feminine. Reminds me of your friend Clarisse and what she might design.
Was in Paris recently and had a flower class with her ! The best, and thanks to you and your blog this connection was made.

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donna October 24, 2016 - 7:46 pm

your dahlias ….. are always stunning … many different colors,
with touch of purple and mauves….. oh and the chartreuse hydrangea !!!!……..nice to view them today in foggy/rainy northern california..

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Gina October 24, 2016 - 8:03 pm

Dear Sharon, I am now convinced that I must include dahlias in my Spring planting. Most of my flowers have frozen. I have a few Nasturtiums and Snapdragons that I bring inside.

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Patricia Miller October 24, 2016 - 8:30 pm

Dahlias, how beautiful yours are in these arrangements. Growing up in Australia my Father grew prize Dahlias, yellow,pinks oranges reds and white he even grew black ones. My sister and I were part of the digging up crew at the end of season, storage, and in spring checking for the new little green shoots and the spring planting. My color palette was developed from these flowers and there amazing shades. It continues to serve me well after all my years in the fashion and decor Biz. Who knew

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Vicky from Athens October 24, 2016 - 8:41 pm

What a welcome sight your blooms are! I’m afraid our drought here in No. GA has been very unkind to our flowers . . . and everything else, for that matter. I’ll just enjoy yours from across the pond!
Thanks so much for the treat!

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Ciel October 24, 2016 - 8:55 pm

The front of your house reminds me of a similar house we lived in in Vaucresson (Paris suburb) when I was 9 years old. The name of the house was La Belle Rose which fit it perfectly due to the roses growing in the garden.
Your flowers are lovely!!!

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Gaynor October 24, 2016 - 9:02 pm

Such a beautiful arrangement and I am enjoying the profusion of dahlias in your bouquet. In my garden here in England I managed to grow dahlias for several years running but they eventually gave up the ghost! I am still gathering verbena, late roses and a particularly vivid blue salvia this autumn. I prefer to leave the Japanese anemones in the borders and enjoy their creamy white blossom against the bronze Cotinus which is beginning to turn fiery red.

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Susan B. October 24, 2016 - 9:11 pm

Sharon, those dahlias are STUNNING, and your arrangement sets them off perfectly.

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Susan October 24, 2016 - 9:51 pm

Here in Arkansas in the USA, I am still enjoying lantana, geraniums, impatiens, ferns and caladiums. My daylillies, iris, and black-eyed Susan are thru for this year. I still have a few blooms on my hydrangea. This is my first full year in our home on the river and I’ve been very pleased with the flowers that I had transplanted from our previous home. Your dahlias are beautiful. I’ve never had any luck with them but I keep trying. Thank you for sharing your home and garden with us.

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Cindy Smith October 24, 2016 - 10:17 pm

It’s a small world as I live i Arkansas too! Just outside of Little Rock. I absolutely love Sharon’s blog.

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Emm October 24, 2016 - 10:10 pm

No dahlias in my garden, but many thanks for the glorious colors of yours. I needed that gorgeousness today.

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Deborah October 24, 2016 - 10:11 pm

As always Sharon your flowers are so beautiful! I love flowers and all varieties, but I have never tried the dahlias. I have been thinking of planting them due to the lovely variety of colors one has to choose. You always have such wonderful photos and an interesting blog. I can’t wait to read it each time. It is beautiful here in deep southern Illinois and the leaves are turning magnificent colors! Fall and spring are my two most favorite seasons. Have a blessed day and thank you for sharing! Smiles across the pond!

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Our French Oasis October 24, 2016 - 10:49 pm

Our dahlias failed miserably this year, probably because it was so dry. The Japanese anemone are flowering everywhere and last surprisingly long in a vase, spilling over the edges they remind me of daisies and spring. We also have quite a few roses and of course the tiny autumn cyclamen poking their heads out amongst the fallen leaves.

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Afn October 24, 2016 - 11:29 pm

Thank you Sharon. My roses are just coming back from a very hot summer in Arizona.
They will be beautiful through January when we have to cut them back and strip the leaves. Then we will have a beautiful Spring with more March.

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Esther George October 24, 2016 - 11:43 pm

Good Morning Sharon, your bouquet is absolutely breathtaking as always. My garden at the moment is full of roses, I have Bambino Dahlia which haven’t flowered as yet same with the Calla Lilies. What really stands out in the garden are the Pellirgonians and the Convolvulus all in pink, they give the garden that meadow look. I love the English cottage gardens, and I hope we have achieved something close to this. Thank you for sharing beauty. Till next time, regards Esther from Sydney. PS the pink Clematis Montana has gone crazy this season, it smells beautiful.

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dottie monta October 25, 2016 - 6:07 am

It’s late October, but my mother’s rose, New Dawn, always gifts us with a few blooms (“the last rose of summer”!), even though the others are now resting until Spring. I’ve given all my siblings cuttings, and now nieces and nephews, too! A lovely way to keep her memory alive. I like to weave in the spent froths of my Autumn Clematis.
Hydrangeas from a friend have yielded two beautiful bouquets. The trick is to pick at peak of color (and before cold weather renders them brown), strip stem of every leaf, and place in 2″ of water in bucket. After exactly three days, they are “dry,” yet pliable and able to be worked with.
I have begun to gather colored leaves.
And have decided, thanks to you, to have dahlias next year!

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Pamela LePage October 25, 2016 - 6:49 am

Your flowers are so pretty!Thank you for sharing yours. The weather can not seem to make up its mind Cooler or Warmer than usual . 🙂

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Susana K. October 25, 2016 - 7:18 am

Thank you for sharing your dahlias from your garden.They are amoung my favourit flowers,never had in my current garden,but long time ago my dear Mother planted the very best of this kind.Now here in Tasmania enjoy seeng lovely lilacs in my garden and this is my own work .
Kindest regards,
Susana

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Taste of France October 25, 2016 - 10:35 am

Your dahlias make me intensely jealous! Our garden really suffered from the lack of rain this summer. Maybe next year.

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Darina October 25, 2016 - 3:03 pm

Absolutely wonderful! I love dahlias. I have hydrangeas from the garden right now.

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Barbara October 25, 2016 - 5:26 pm

What an exquisite arrangement Sharon . Dahlias are so beautiful and the Luxembourg garden in Paris is full of lovely pink ones at the moment.
And by the way…love this adorable chair !

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Susan Threlkeld October 25, 2016 - 10:38 pm

Living in South Texas aka “The Valley”, we rarely have freezes. Esperanzas, Hibiscus (I have white, red and yellow), Firebush, Firecracker, Oleanders and Jasmine are blooming.
Caterpillars have descimated our Bougainvilias so no blooms. But, oh! We have so many beautiful butterflies.
I’m getting ready to buy a raised flowerbed for planting my Zinnia seeds. Love having them to cut for bouquets inside.

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MARLA PATTERSON October 29, 2016 - 9:56 pm

Oh Sharon! These flowers are just lovely!! Our place in in Southern California is just a hard place to do cutting flowers. Roses do alright but maybe its me, our yard, and of course the drought, but for now a cutting garden is just a dream! I love, however, enjoying your posies. Such a lovely blog.

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