Nice and harmonious integration of dahlias into a garden layout. Beautiful!

I love the workmanship on the raised beds. very nice. Mine are coming soon I hope. They survived a horrendous hail storm this week. I had never seen anything like it.

Not mere workmanship but something more as you've built the bed on a slope and thst's not easy! (And I am wondering how you stabilized that end of your bed..) The finials are a nice touch.

Did you deliberately plant the, what Red King Humbert (?) canna to match..bring out the fountain and its color?

Very nice Jroot.

Thank you, pdshop and misslucinda.

There is a raised wall going partway through the back of my property. Part of the raised bed is build right on top of the wall also on the upper side of the wall. Hence it is quite secure. I did have a lot of the red leaved canna which multiply from the canna bed I have. I thought they would make a nice touch to add to the predominately pink hues around the fountain. I don't know whether you can see it or not, but there is some giganticus grass growing behind the fountain, planted just below the wall. It has a nice red flower later in the season, and it grows to about 11 feet tall. Taking into consideration the height of the wall, and the height of the back of the fountain, that should leave about a 6 foot spray of grass behind the fountain, which I thought would make a nice touch. That is one reason why I placed the fountain where it is.

Today, more pink dahlias are opening in this area as well.

Beautiful jroot, I'm envious!! I've only got 3 out of 170 in bloom so far.

Cheers,
Russ

Very nice indeed. What is the name of this grass that grows 11ft in zone 5b?

When I purchased this grass, it was called Miscanthus sinensis giganteus. I first came across it while touring a garden near Tobermory, so I knew that it was hardy to our area, if it would grow there LOL. There are a couple of other names which you could investigate.

Here is a link that might be useful: Other common names for BIG grass

You can see from the photos below that the grass is over 7 feet already, and it is only July 2nd.

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View from the front
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View from below
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If it's mischantus goliath, then I bought one in the spring and it's only started to leaf out. The karl forester that I bougth at the same time, is already 5ft tall and blooming.

Is mischantus gigantus different then?

My miscanthus sinensis giganteus starts to leaf up earlier than my m.s. gracillimus. It is a very different form than the karl forester grass. The m.s.giganteus does not start to bloom until late August or September, and the flower has reddish hues to it, whereas the karl forester flower has a dried grass look about it, and really stands out and is very apparent in a garden with darker foliage.

True. How tall the gracillimus get? I'll be picking up a couple of giganteus today. Apparently they get up to 15ft

http://www.bluestem.ca/miscanthus-giganteus.htm

I was really disappointed today when I got to the nursery to purchase miscanthus floridus gigantus today, I was shown the 2 gallon pots and there were only 3 new growth stalks in each pot.

The lady said it can take 2 to 6 yrs for it to really get tall and become clump like and get to the ultimate height of 300cm.

I was looking for instant gratification, as we might not even be staying that long in this house

In gardening, one has to learn patience. I can say that my giganteus took about 3 years before it got to 10 or 11 feet tall by the end of the summer. Fortunately, one can always dig it up and take it with one when one moves, if one remembers to include that as a part of the sale.

How is your brugmansia doing now?

I understand that, and I might just end up doing that. They had 2gal pots for $18. My brugs are ok, after karmahappytoes advised my to dig the shorty out of the ground and pot it up

No blooms as of yet

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Dahlia ( right of the picture )

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Your dahlia indeed looks happy. I think I see a bud on it, but can't tell for sure.

Glad to hear Shorty is doing well.

There are indeed 4-5 buds on it in total. I dropped 3 dahlia bulbs into the ground earlier in the spring

I came home last night, after a brief trip to Kapuskasing, and discovered that my Peach Brandy had opened. Here she is. What a beauty! Good strong stem. Acquired this spring from: Olly Chuchryk near Ottawa, ON at info@charinghousegardens.ca

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Thank you Jroot. What a spectacular dahlia. An orange, a coral, no, a special blend!

Thanks, misslucinda. It is a beauty.

If this weren't a dahlia forum, I could show you some other interesting things happening. Tomorrow or the next day, I will be able to photo some shots of Shorty, the amazing brugmansia which is just about to open with its first flurry of the year. ... and the annual peony poppies have been amazing.

Jroot, this is a small friendly forum peopled with those who share elation in the beauty of this flower and yet, through the fickleness of its propagation, humilty.

I for one, would love to see you post pictures here of Shorty, your brug and of your peony poppies. I can't imagine anyone objecting to same. Please?

I'm with you misslucinda, I've posted a couple of messages asking for people to look at my "other" stuff. Just a thought, incorporate it in a message about Dahlias and there shouldn't be anyone who minds.

Cheers,
Russ

Okay. Here are a few more dahlias which have opened. The Lady Darlene is getting closer to what she should be, but I must admit the photo on the box is misleading.

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Enchanted Double White Brugmansia about to open.

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On the left is Shorty, a variegated brugmansia, about to open tonight or tomorrow.

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Beautiful red NOID dahlia beside a peony poppy

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Cafe au Lait dahlia

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Lady Darlene dahlia

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Peony poppy

Oh my, Jroot, your Peony poppy is just about a perfect flower---and one which any dahlia lover would fall in love with (at least I have). Also saw a picture of the Cafe au Lait in the Swans catalogue and have to admit the photograph really called to me and your's looks just as professionally perfect.

Now do you plant your dahlias in a mixed border/perennial bed or do you keep most of your collection, including your Canna and what, Ginger(?) in pots so you can organize them as you like?

Most of my dahlias are planted into the ground, with a label ( name, size, colour ) stuck into the ground behind it. I have only one pot of dahliettas on the deck. The rest are in ground in my dahlia hedge, or in the water feature's raised garden, or at the front mixed in with brugs, daylilies, poppies, gladiolas, and yews.

Thanks for your positive comments. They keep me going. WINK

jroot- that isn't Lady Darlene. She is yellow & orange & yours is a varigated white & purple-- like Hullin's Carnival or Gypsy Girl. See the link at Corralito's below for a picture of the real Lady Darlene.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:641879}}

I don't think it is Lady Darlene either. I don't even think it is what the label stated when purchased. See the label below.
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The tag is also considerably different from the link posted by plantlady2008. Unfortunately, there are a lot of different ideas about what Lady Darlene really looks like.
see also:
http://www.dahlias.net/dahwebpg/Gallery/GalleryHtms/LadyDarlene.htm

http://www.kvbwholesale.com/store/dahlias/decorative/60774

http://www.dahlia.org/cgi-bin/guide/dahlia.cgi?LADY+DARLENE

http://arrowheaddahlias.com/pics/dahlia_lady_darlene.jpg

It is frustrating for the purchaser when the retailer is selling something other than what it should be.

Will the real Lady Darlene please stand up!

In the end of it all, it still is a pretty flower. Thanks for commenting plantlady2008. I respect your knowledge and experience.

If you are planting dahlias in front of Yew bushes and among daylillys, what you have is a mixed border using quite a few tender perennials (the Dahlia, brugs and gladioli) and annuals. When you get a chance, perhaps you can post pictures of same as I am always looking for new ways to use these beauties. Thanks, John.

P.S. My husband thinks my Canna bed experiment looks like a mini field of skunk cabbage. Amusing, eh?

Jroot,

Really beautiful stuff. Its amazing how much further along yours are than mine given how close we are. I really think my lighting wasn't strong enough.

Shame about the packaging problems. I've been lucky I guess, all of mine have turned out to be what the pictures looked like so far.

I have pink poppies that grow from seed (from the pods of the poppies from last year). I was wondering if they were "peony poppies" or just plain old poppies. They're pretty, whatever they are, but they don't last very long.

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Cheers,
Russ

I have single poppies as well, that I call "plain old poppies". These ones are more like the peonies, of which I have a good number of varieties. And of course I have some of the perennial poppies in various shades also.

Thanks for your comments, Russ. I don't know whether the issue is the strength of the artificial light or not. Well maybe. I use it just to get them going, and when they are up a couple of inches, I get them outside to acclimatize them, and then give them full strength sun. That is where mine get their light before I plant. ... a lot more work, but it pays off. Now, if I were plantlady with several thousand, I just couldn't do it.

Did you get my email sent last night, Russ?