Welcome!
Won’t you have a seat? The show is about to begin. The curtain rises with the sun, as the stage slowly illuminates with the incremental increases in candlepower.
Above: Dahlia ‘Mystic Spires’ with Dahlia ‘Gallery Singer’ behind
It is September, which means the Dahlia ssp. are coming into their most ravishing bloom period until they are struck down by the late October frost. We don’t want to miss a single moment of this show.
Above: Dahlia ‘Mystic Spires’ with cosmos stem in front
There has been sporadic bloom for several months, disappointing compared to what happens as the nights cool down, the days shorten and the sun shifts. This is the peak period of pizzazz.
Above: Dahlia ‘Gallery Cobra’
The filler that seems to best enhance the dazzling diva Dahlias is the selected through the years yellow cosmos from a mixed packet of Cosmos sulphureus. They are stunning supporting players, weaving and bobbing in and around the propped Dahlias.
Above: Dahlia ‘Gallery Cobra’, Dahlia ‘Gallery Singer’ and yellow Cosmos sulphureus.
There is a trio in the upper deck of delight that includes Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ on either end.
One Dahlia ‘Bishop’s Children’ that was grown from seed holds the center position. This one is slightly more orange than the parental unit and has another row of more pointy petals.
There is something special about these Dahlias, besides their depth of color and radiant beauty. They have been in the ground of this raised box bed filled with chopped leaves and composted manure year round, some of them for several years, in our USDA Zone 7a Southeast Tennessee climate. The two Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ are newly planted this spring from exceptionally large tubers that were ordered from Old House Gardens. Next year a few more tall ones should be added to fill in with ferny foliage and dusky blooms. I might go with the dark Dahlia ‘Atropurpurea’.
Let us sit in the blue chairs and enjoy the show, for there is an occasional surprise in this arena…
…That is not to be missed.
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Please check out the September flowers in bloom from around the world that can be found at Carol’s place, using her handy dandy Mister Linky listing.
Frances
Fairegarden 
What beautiful dahlias! And the yellow Cosmos really does add color zing!
Your dahlias are putting on a great show. I have one and it is amazing that it is blooming in such shaded conditions. I thought I would try it to see if it would do anything there and it is blooming and performing well. Happy GBBD. Have a great week.
They are lovely…and I would love to join you on the blue chairs to see the hummers. My hummers are skittish critters…but, fun to watch from inside. I do like the Bishop with his red face and dark suit….must find a spot for him somewhere sunny! Happy GBBD my friend. xoxogail
Wow, those dahlias are tall! Hummingbirds visit my rose of Sharon shrub. My dahlias have yet to bloom. I started them in their pots kind of late.
Love your photography. Your garden is truly beautiful.
What a beautiful bunch of glamour girls….like old fashioned movie stars walking the red carpet for a special movie premiere. How nice that your raised bed allows them to winter safely outside and, consequently, get to be thought of as “low maintenance”.
Your photos just keep getting more and more beautiful. The dahlias are wonderful!
Oh my! You get hummers at your Dahlias?! I’ve never seen them at mine. But then, I have loads of other stuff that they love, so there is still plenty for them to eat. They love all my Agastaches, and the Monarda draws them over and over. But those plants are too far away from the patio for us to see much unless I’m right out there working. I need to plant some hummer attractors right near the lounge chairs.
Your Dahlias are really beautiful! I have several that I grew from seed, and I’ve been saving seed from mine this year, wondering what I’ll get next year from them. Mine stay in the ground too, but here they need really good drainage to survive the watery onslaught of our winter.
‘Bishop of Llandaff’ is my favorite, hands down.
I love all those fiery dahlias-so pretty!
Are you aware that all your pictures appear as thumbprints that must be enlarged to view? This is a fairly new occurance and it is annoying since i ruins the flow of your blog.
Love seeing your dahlias. I’m just getting mine going, but I adore that Bishop. I had a terrible problem with the grasshoppers on the dahlias this year. They were a nightmare on many things, but most are gone now.
Now I know why those blue chairs are sitting where they are! The dahlias make a beautiful show for fall. Does this mean your tubers stay in the ground all winter? I haven’t planted any because I know I’d probably forget to dig them up before frost, but I look at them wistfully in others’ gardens every fall.
By the way, yesterday I stopped in at a local nursery to pick up some mums that were on sale and happened to notice their perennial “plant of the week.” It was ‘Vera Jameson’ sedum! I’ve admired yours for so long, so naturally I quickly snatched a couple of them–I’m so excited to have found them!
Those are all just gorgeous! If I can’t grow them, I’m glad you can!
Dahlia’s are on my list for growing in the future! Glad I didn’t try this year–
after the recent rain I finally had one bloom. I do miss them and your post made me smile to remember them.
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