dahlia days

I am very busy at the moment, working on our new collection, but whenever I need a break I pop outside to do some deadheading and enjoy the daily delight of my now-blooming dahlias.

Last year was the first year I grew dahlias and, after advice from some of you I lifted the tubers and stored them, over winter, in paper bags in my tiny shed. A few sadly did not survive (I’m looking at you, Peaches and Tartan) but most survived just fine, and are happily thriving again this year – just look at prolific and showy Muchacha!

. . . and gorgeous, delicate Mystic Dreamer

At the start of this year, I ordered a few more tubers, and brought these on in 1 litre pots under cover until they started showing growth. Some have fared better than others, and I’ve experimented with putting some smaller varieties at the front of beds with other perennials, while growing others in pots at the front and back of the mill.

The pot-grown varieties are generally all doing really well, although last week’s unseasonal storm seriously battered a few plants around the front door.

This variety – Haartenaas (Dutch for ‘ace of hearts’) – may well prove to be my favourite of 2025. It is very floriferous, and an incredibly jolly shade of pink.

Haartenaas is a collarette-type dahlia, so called for the wee collar of smaller petals around the stamen centre. I’ve grown several dahlias of this type this year.

This interesting variety does not match the colouring of any tuber I knowingly bought, but if a suppplier mix-up, it is certainly a very happy one. I find the range of soft peachy pink shades in each single flower absolutely stunning!

I believe this next variety is called Liquid Desire – which I frankly think is a rubbish name for a flower of any type – particularly a dahlia (surely the most definite and least liquid of flowers) but each to their own.

Like other dahlias of this type, these petals fade to a satisfying range of paler pinks and deep magentas after a few days of hot sun.

I think this next one is called Teesbrooke Audrey, and features a delicate, contrasting collar of lacy white . .

and my tuber notebook tells me that this is the deliciously named bumble rumble, with inner and outer petals of the same variegated stripes throughout.

As bumble rumble’s name suggests, the collarette dahlias are a definite hit with pollinators of all kinds.

I’m growing this variety in the front of a mixed border. It has opened much later than those in pots, but since it did so (a few days ago) it has been covered with winged beasties!

And these very open, eight-petalled varieties are high up on my garden’s pollinator popularity list as well!

High summer is such a lovely time of year for flowers, and I’m so enjoying the gorgeous saturated colours my dahlias provide. I still have several (all of which seem to have the names of different bishops) which are yet to flower, and from my recollection, like the majority of dahlias in this post these are pinkish-ish red or red-ish pink. I really do seem to have gone all-out for deep, hot pinks this year, but maybe I’ll branch out to a few of the peachier shades in 2026.

Which dahlia varieties are your favourites?