I am doing some armchair gardening today because we had snow on the ground this morning – and I felt like giving myself a break from winter.

I took all of these photos last fall in the dahlia garden at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum near my home. I was supposed to enter a few of these pictures in the yearly contest that the Long Island Dahlia Society holds every year – but I missed it {thinking I had another week to submit..oh well I will enter this year for sure!} I got some really good bohkeh {the blurred stuff in the background!} on some of the shots.

This year, I am going to be more serious about growing dahlias in my yard. I only planted about 4 or 5 of them a few years ago and I loved how they looked in the bed I have right next to my deck. I didn’t dig them and over-winter them {I got too busy with projects that year I remember}, and so that was the end of the dahlia experience for me. I substituted gladiolas – which I love mainly because they are hardy and they come up every year without me having to dig up the bulbs. But – they are like the best looking guy at a dance – nice to look at…but they don’t stick around very long!! So – I have to do some editing and transplanting of my gladiolas (or is it gladioli???) – and bring back some beautiful dahlias.








Have you planted dahlias in your garden {or are planning to?} Let me know your experiences and thoughts in the comment box below!

