My first dahlias opened this week, an annual that I always look forward to as I love their perfectly formed, long-lasting blooms. These were a passalong and are a short variety bred for containers and front of the border planting. My taller dahlias will take a bit longer to bloom, maybe another 7-10 days.
Accompanying them are Zinnia ‘Aurora’ and ‘Yellow Profusion’, white pearl yarrow (Achillea ptarmica ‘The Pearl’), red Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’, and purple Veronica longifolia.
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts the weekly garden meme In A Vase On Monday, featuring flower arrangements from our gardens. Click the link to join the fun or see what others are sharing this week.
Eliza Waters 
Such wonderful vibrant colors. And your arrangement shows them off perfectly! 😍
Thank you, Jane. Reminds me of a pack of Crayolas! 😉
That is a lot of bright red. Is Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ invasive? (Did I ask that already?)
No, I don’t think of it as invasive. It will increase and possibly self-sow, but it is easily controlled like any other perennial. However, in your year-round growing conditions, it might grow more profusely?
Feral Crocosmia is an aggressive weed where it gets established. It makes me hesitant about garden varieties. However, I realized that a particular Crocosmia, which looks just like the feral sort, that someone else planted in my downtown planter box had been there for years without self sowing or migrating very far. The clump grew a bit larger, but that is all. I did not want to leave it there, but now, I am glad that I did.
Maybe the hybrid ‘Lucifer’ is better behaved? Everyone who sees mine admires them. They have a ‘wow’ factor!
As a hybrid, it may not produce viable seed, which would be one advantage. If it stays contained, that would be the primary advantage.
So pretty
Thank you!
Beautiful Eliza, they speak in so many languages to the soul. Thank you 🤗❤️🙏
Thanks, Mark. Glad you like them!
Delightful!
Thank you! 💖
A great way to start my week. Beautiful!
Thank you very much, Rupali. Have a good one!
This is a beautifully cheerful arrangement!
Thank you, Anne. Bold colours to catch the eye. 🙂
Perfect!
Thank you!
The arrangement’s glorious, but ignorant me has to ask: which are the dahlias? The red flowers in the forefront of the first photo?
Thank you, Linda. Unfortunately, the dahlias in the photos seem to nod downward at the sides. Only after a few days do they seem to be opening wider and facing outwards. I should add another photo. They are quite striking with a golden ‘eye’, yellow petals at the center radiating out to red/orange tips.
An artful arrangement with plenty of eye-pleasing colors!
Thank you, Barbara. Primary colors plus! 😀
A bright combination of flowers. The dahlias, look great and the veronica really add interest.
Thank you!
Gorgeous! My gardens are struggling this summer, so yours are a treat? Those dahlias and crocosomias!
Thank you, Ellen. It seems the rain this year is hit or miss. We can get deluged, but the next town over gets nothing. More weather-weirding. 😦
Veronica is a perfect addition to your vase Eliza – both in shape and colour. I’m not growing Dahlias this year – gasp! I know – wanting a few more tomatoes instead. Happily I’ll be able to admire everyone else’s instead!
Thank you, Chris. That is a prolific variety of Veronica, a share from a generous friend. I can’t imagine a year without dahlias or zinnias, must-haves in my garden. But tomatoes are pretty nice to have, too. 🙂
Dry summers like this one make me think I should cut back on tomatoes and plant a few dahlias instead; with their fat bulbous water-storing roots they seem to do better when it rains less.
I really do love your flowers. You must spend a lot of time and get a lot of joy from gardening. Keep up the good work and know you have a fan.
Thank you very much! It is a labor of love, for sure. Esp. during these hot days, I have to get things done early in the day. I am happiest puttering in my garden. 🙂
That is lovely Eliza. I really like the blue veronica to cool down those warm summer colours. Love your zinnias too!
Thank you, Cathy. Hot colours for all these hot days!
What a gorgeous colourful vase Eliza! ❤️💛 xxx
🙂 Thank you, Xenia! Bright and bold!
I also love dahlias but I have never been able to grow them. I remember spending a long time at the Frankfurt Botanical Garden in the huge dahlia garden…it was absolutely amazing. Thanks for showing some of your dahlias today…(Suzanne)
Thank you, Suzanne. I bought 4 new varieties this year and am looking forward to seeing them in bloom soon!
Glorious!
Thank you, Laurie!
They are gorgeous! I don’t have any in my garden, but several of my friends have, and I like to look at them. There is also a few bigger public gardens in the area that have beautiful dahlias.
Thank you, Maria. They bloom as many of the early season perennials are fading, carrying the late summer garden into fall. Not frost hardy, however, so must be dug and stored. Worth it, IMO!
Beautiful, Eliza.
Thank you, Sandy!
Lovely! 😊
Thank you, Pepper!
😉
That is a very striking dahlia Eliza. I bought bedding dahlias for a group of 3 pots this year and they have done so well – sadly I didn’t note the variety as I wasn’t planning on keeping them, but I will try and find the same variety next year rather than try and overwinter them
Thanks, Cathy. Quite a few gardeners I know don’t like to overwinter dahlias. I don’t mind the effort it takes at the end of the season to wash, dry and store them in a cool, but frost-free place. This year, I did buy a few new ones to replace some that I purged last year. I look forward to seeing what they look like (stay tuned!).
Same here – I always lift mine and am happy to do so, but I suspect these won’t have formed much of a tuber, if any, but I will keep an open mind
Congratulations! Your dahlias are ahead of mine. I’ve been in my cutting garden nearly every day counting the buds but I think I have a wait even for the most well-developed of them. I keep telling myself to be patient…
https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Kris. Bedding size plants kind of is a bit of a cheat, being shorter, I imagine they bloom sooner. 🙂 And the stems really are only for the smallest of vases, but I was determined to use them! 😀
These colors (except for the purple and white) remind me of Fall, which can’t come soon enough as it’s my favorite season — and I’m weary of this heat and humidity!!
Thanks, Debbie. The humidity is particularly annoying, makes it hard to breathe!
Ohhh, divine Dahlias taunting me from afar with all their wonderfulness! Love that Veronica too.
Thank you, kind of like your heliconias, lol!
Indeed!
A dazzling display 😊
Thank you, Belinda. A bit of an eye-popper! 😀
The red of the dahlia and the veronica hues are a vibrant combination, so pretty!
Thank you, Tom!
What a beautiful mixture of colours and the veronica’s blue provides a very pleasing contrast.
Thank you, Noelle!
Lovely arrangement.
Thank you, Judy. 🙂
A cheery summer bouquet. I love all that hot-red!
Thank you, Tina. Matches all these hot days we’ve been having. 🔥
Gorgeous colours Eliza. Seems there is a red theme today matching the heat of summer!. My favourite in there is ‘Lucifer’. That red is such a wonderful stand out! I’m thinking of using one in my next vase!
Thank you, Jenny!
I’m always taken by surprise to see zinnias and dahlias so early in the year, in my mind, they belong more into autumn. You have a wonderful succession of flowers to accompany you through the seasons.
Thank you, Tanja. I’ve designed my garden to have something in bloom from March through October, and sometimes beyond that. You can imagine how I go through withdrawals at the end of the season! 😀
A treat for yourself, and for all your insect visitors! At least for 3/4 of the year. The other months have to be endured. But if we are lucky, there are ice flowers and snow trees to enjoy.
Yes! And the resident birds, too, at least there is some life and activity out there to enjoy even in winter.
We try to do the same here, Eliza. Let’s hope it make a little difference.
Beautiful
Thank you!
Nice collections you are welcome, and how are you doing?
What a great way to start out the week! Beautiful dahlias.
Thank you, Monika. I love dahlia season!
There’s no doubt they are super pretty. Do you dig up the bulbs for winter? That was the reason I never planted them in my garden.
Yes, as they are not hardy, I have to dig in the fall, clean, dry and store. But not too tough, and quite worth it, IMO.
Gorgeous! I love dahlias but they also remind me that summer days are starting to slip away…..
Thank you, the river of time is endless!
Love the color combination this week, especially the Lucifer flower!🙂
Thanks! Those ‘Lucifer’ are so stunning… I have a large backdrop of them, with hummers zooming in and out. Wonderous!
beautiful
Thank you!