A Waning Summer.

I have to put a sweater on to take my dog, Archie, for his walk in the morning. The morning air smells earthy and it’s not quite as bright as it was a few days ago. Autumn must be coming. There is still so much to enjoy in the garden and the dahlias have more than satisfied my need for colour. This year my other half planted forty in our parking strip. This number has been creeping up each year since we moved to LFP and I am as much to blame with the Dahlia deluge this year as my other half, as I planted some in the garden borders too.

The glorious forty.

The real stunner for me this year has been David Howard. An ember orange, perfectly formed double decorative dahlia flower contrasts beautifully against dark red foliage.

An old favourite is the collarette ‘Pooh’, maybe not as refined as some, and probably because I know it’s called ‘Pooh’ and the flowers remind me of a medieval ruff my minds eye has fused the two so I think of Winnie in a ruff. Is that wrong? Anyway it makes me smile and so must be included.

My other half's favourite is Citron de Cap, which he describes as “lemony white, 8” blooms which have lacinated petals” not the most romantic description, but one website also describes the ‘dusting of rose blush on the petal tips’ and if that doesn’t complete the picture…..

And last but not least, literally the last to flower, Bodacious. The name says it all, so here is what it looks like.

So for the rest of the summer I will enjoy the quiet as it descends on the garden, tidy away the annuals and prepare to plan next years garden. I just caught my other half perusing a dahlia catalog, looks like the dahlia patch will be expanding!