Picking More Dahlias at My Farm
My garden continues to produce lots of gorgeous, bright, and colorful dahlias.
Just ahead of this week’s violent storm that battered several states across the Northeast, my head gardener Ryan McCallister and my housekeepers, Enma Sandoval and Sanu Sherpa, rushed to cut and gather dozens of dahlias, so we could enjoy them indoors. Dahlias bloom from midsummer right through the first frost, and since temperatures in the area have not yet dipped into the 30s, we’re still able to pick lots of the season’s last flowers. I hope you caught a glimpse of some on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48.
Here are more photos - enjoy.
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- “Dahlias for days” is a common saying this season. My new dahlia bed behind my main greenhouse is still bursting with flowers.
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- Here’s Sanu carefully placing each flower into a bin before transporting them up to my Winter House. Native to Mexico and Central America, dahlias produce an abundance of wonderful flowers throughout early summer and again in late summer until the first frost.
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- This is ‘Sandra’ – a lovely and perfectly formed rose pink flower with a hint of ‘frost edged’ petals.
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- ‘Sheer Heaven’ is this glowing beauty – a special mix of soft peach and the palest lemon yellow. Its flowers are upward-facing and borne on long, strong stems.
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- Dahlias come in a myriad of colors. Here’s one of my favorites – ‘Myrtle’s Brandy’. This dahlia is bright red with white tips whose petals fold back towards the stems. It is an excellent cut flower variety.
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- ‘Park Princess’ is a cactus type. The tightly rolled petals vary in color from pale pink to rich, vibrant pink, depending on the temperature and moisture. It is a prolific re-bloomer and an excellent cut flower.
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- This is Dahlia ‘Hugs N’ Kisses’. Its three-inch blooms are lavender with a deep purple reverse on the back of each petal. Each petal rolls slightly making it quite unique.
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- Dahlia ‘Vancouver’ is an eye-catching dinner plate dahlia with huge and magnificent, blue-violet blossoms adorned with white-tipped, long petals. When fully opened, this double variety flowers up to eight to 10 inches in diameter.
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- Here’s Ryan cutting as many dahlias as possible before the storm – the grey clouds above look very ominous.
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- When deciding where to plant dahlias, look for an area that is in full sun to part shade. This is ‘Platinum Blonde’ – one of the most unusual varieties. The flowers resemble double flowered echinacea. Each fuzzy buttercream center on a four-inch anemone-shaped bloom is surrounded by a ring of bright white petals. The long-stemmed flowers are great for wedding work and last well in the vase.
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- ‘Center Court’ dahlias are beautiful pristine white six-inch blooms atop five-foot tall plants. The petals fold back to cup each stem. ‘Center Court’ looks great in large arrangements.
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- This cactus dahlia is called ‘Karma Red Corona’ with brilliant, scarlet red flowers. It was bred as a cut flower, and like other Karma dahlias, the plants are compact with dark green foliage, long stems, and a high bud count. The quilled petals add extra texture and volume.
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- This is ‘Karma Corona’. The Karma series was developed for the cut flower market. This variety has strong stems and flowers that open with a blend of beautiful salmon, yellow, and bronze.
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- ‘Black Jack’ is one of the last to open – here it is still working its way to full bloom. This variety is extremely dark burgundy with green foliage.
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- Once they’re inside, they’re made into lovely arrangements and displayed in my servery, kitchen, dining room and foyer – they add cheer to any gray and stormy day.
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- Experiment with the varieties – dahlias look great arranged in different colors.
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- Or as a bunch of the same variety. The striking colors and forms look so pretty.
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- Dahlias come in almost every color except true blue. Here is an arrangement of pink, salmon, and peach-colored dahlias.
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- Dahlias range from small to dinner-plate size like this one.
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- Here are two more small arrangements in my dining room – bold pink and shades of light peach to cream and yellow look so pretty together.
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- I love this arrangement – a mix of dark pink and plum.
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- The stems don’t have to be very long – we cut these to just several inches to fit these glass vessels.
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- These arrangements are on the table in my foyer. At the end of the growing season, dig and store dahlia tubers for the winter to replant next year.
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- And here is a beautiful arrangement on my kitchen counter together with some of the gourds and winter squash picked from my garden. If lucky, these arrangements should last four to six days – they’re so beautiful.
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