One-of-a-Kind Dahlias : A Color Story
This week the first frost fell on local flower fields. A decisive end to dahlia season! This made me immediately nostalgic for summer, even though she’s just barely left. Looking through photos of the past summer I was struck right away by the vivid colors that have been featured in the studio all season long. Acid yellow, hot pink, chartreuse! Not the palette I think I’m drawn to and yet…
Sweet peas, larkspur, dried cress and dahlias
I have a feeling that one factor in my shift to extravagant hues is the new crop of Floret dahlia seedlings that have made their way into my garden and the flower markets. These bizarro beauties often turn out to be quite bright (loud even). If they were of average size and shape I might pass them up, but so many of these blooms have forms that are irresistible.
My favorite in the Fortunate Orchard garden is the ruby-hued delight below. I’ve named this flower ‘Ozzy’, because I was swooning hard over it on the day that Ozzy Osbourne died, and it seemed like a good fit. The flower starts life as a deeply colored red pom, and as it ages it turns into a silver streaked comet. This plant has been pumping out blooms with gusto for two summer seasons and I hope with all of my heart that it returns next year (I don’t dig up my dahlia tubers, I just wish them luck).
Original dahlias from Floret seeds: ‘Ozzy’ bottom left and and a star-shaped single that I have named ‘Mesmer’…
There is a key to designing arrangements that contain both boisterous colors and visual subtlety, I think. That is finding a ‘bridge’ between hues - a gentle link. In the arrangement above, both ‘Ozzy’ and ‘Mesmer’ have gradations of red to white.. that carmine picks up at the throat of the Tiger lilies in the rear, and the petals of the ‘Totally Tangerine’ dahlia at the bottom right… A quiet conversation.
‘Distant Drums’ roses bring their touch of burgundy fading to pink to the party.
A late-summer mix of fresh blooms and flower bones from the garden.
The end of dahlia season is always something of a shock, so abrupt! After months of saturated color and big blowsy blooms, the market looks a bit stark (thank goodness for chrysanthemums). But, as Mother Nature goes, so do we. Suddenly, leaves have turned the very shades of carmine red and burgundy that I was admiring in dahlia blooms just a few days ago. Aha, it’s foliage season! Let’s celebrate.