Among The Petals

Among The Petals From My Garden To You

This lovely caramel-peachy-brown-pink-orange... I don't know what colour it wants to be, but somehow it seems to work wi...
01/06/2026

This lovely caramel-peachy-brown-pink-orange... I don't know what colour it wants to be, but somehow it seems to work with almost every other flower because it carries so many different tones within the bloom.

It probably doesn't have the highest petal count, but it more than makes up for it in productivity. It pumps out blooms and earns its place in arrangements time and time again.

I do tend to disbud the side buds, as leaving them all on noticeably reduces the size of each flower. The plant itself isn't particularly tall either, which I appreciate, and it doesn't seem to require staking.

This is a Breannon seedling, and I'm bringing it into its third year. Whether it ever becomes anything more than a flower I grow for myself remains to be seen, but for now it's definitely earned its spot in the garden.

For something a little different, here are a few blooms that won’t be making it into another season.These are all first ...
25/05/2026

For something a little different, here are a few blooms that won’t be making it into another season.

These are all first year seedlings and, for one reason or another, they just didn’t quite make the grade. Some were let down by head attachment, stem strength, petal count, or simply the fact that I didn’t love them enough to keep working with them. Others just weren’t quite in line with the direction I want my breeding program to head.

This is the hard side of breeding… but also one of the most satisfying parts. Learning to choose what stays, what goes, and what’s truly worth the space for another season.

Not every seedling can be a keeper, no matter how pretty the bloom may be.

So now I’m curious… which one would you have struggled to cull?

When a bloom is so lovely you’re willing to give it one more season to fix itself… aka you completely lack the willpower...
23/05/2026

When a bloom is so lovely you’re willing to give it one more season to fix itself… aka you completely lack the willpower to cull. Anyone else relate? 😅

This lovely seedling is in its second year. I honestly don’t remember it from the first season because I’m pretty sure it was one of the herbicide affected dahlias I decided to give a second chance to. Now here I am giving it a third chance because the soil it was planted in just wasn’t good, and none of the dahlias in that bed performed well.

Everything about it is lovely except the blooms tend to “clock face” because the flowers have such a high petal count that they become too heavy for the stems to hold upright properly. But weak plants and poor growth were a theme across this whole bed after I moved soil from an area that clearly wasn’t great for dahlias, so I’m still holding my breath and hoping next season tells a different story.

Looks like this bed might be getting cosmos and zinnias next season while I spend winter rebuilding the soil a bit. They’re definitely not as hungry as dahlias 😆

🌸

Another one of my waterlily seedlings that I’m really excited to keep watching next season. 🌸This one actually won secon...
22/05/2026

Another one of my waterlily seedlings that I’m really excited to keep watching next season. 🌸

This one actually won second place at the Dahlia Society of Victoria State Show earlier this year in the category for blooms that don’t quite fit the standard. In this case, it’s because the petals are more pointed rather than the rounded petals expected in the traditional waterlily form.

I still think it’s such a lovely full bloom though, and I really love the soft watercolour pink-on-white colouring which changes slightly from bloom to bloom. Some flowers show more pink while others are a little softer and whiter.

My only criticism at this stage is that occasionally it can throw a few slightly wonky petals, although not on every bloom. Definitely one I’ll be keeping an eye on next season to see how it continues to develop. 🤍

Today’s 1st year seedling highlight is this oh so romantic red. ❤️Capturing its true colour has been surprisingly diffic...
18/05/2026

Today’s 1st year seedling highlight is this oh so romantic red. ❤️

Capturing its true colour has been surprisingly difficult. Depending on how the light shifts from my camera, it appears as a rich velvety crimson to a brighter glowing red, but I’d say it’s most likely closer to the crimson colour. One thing that stayed consistent though was just how beautiful it was in the garden all season.

This first year seedling gave me lovely rounded petals, beautiful head position, strong stems, and plenty of blooms to pick from. It really ticked a lot of boxes for me.

I did notice it was one of the first waterlilies to start declining in quality once the season began to turn. But I’m not entirely sure I can hold that against it, especially when I’ve been completely spoilt by a certain pink waterlily this season that somehow still hasn’t blown its centre yet.

Interestingly, its seed parent W1 produced a lot of red seedlings this year. The trait seemed incredibly dominant across the board.

Either way, this is definitely one I’ll be eagerly waiting to see bloom again next season.

There’s always that one flower you take for granted because it’s just so reliable. The one that quietly puts on a beauti...
17/05/2026

There’s always that one flower you take for granted because it’s just so reliable. The one that quietly puts on a beautiful display week after week, and somehow you realise at the end of the season you barely took any photos of it because it was always just there, doing its thing.

For me, it was this lovely second year seedling bred by Bec at .

To be fair, it was a bit of a strange season and quite a few of my seedlings threw hard green centres for the first few weeks of flowering as you can see in the last picture. Once this one settled though, it produced the prettiest pale pink centre that softened out to the perfect baby pink outer petals, though sometimes the blooms were baby pink all over. The petals also carry the sweetest delicate lines through them which adds to its soft, romantic feel.

A shorter plant, but with long, solid stems and an absolute abundance of blooms. It definitely needed a bit of disbudding to push for larger flowers, but it more than made up for it with how generously it flowered all season.

This romantic bloom is currently going by the name DEAR My Beloved, taken from “My beloved is mine and I am his” from Song of Songs.

One of the goals slowly taking shape in my breeding program is exploring these fuller waterlily forms that are beginning...
16/05/2026

One of the goals slowly taking shape in my breeding program is exploring these fuller waterlily forms that are beginning to emerge from breeders in America and Europe. Some may not fit neatly within traditional breed standards, but they feel like they are opening the door to something really beautiful and different.

What I especially love is the high petal count combined with the nyctinasty traits, where the petals fold inward at night to create that beautiful closed ball shape. By evening they almost resemble peonies, despite peony dahlias being their own separate class. There’s something so elegant and romantic about watching that transformation happen through the day.

This seedling is one I’ll definitely be keeping to breed from. It has a lovely full form and closes beautifully at night, which is one of the traits I’m most excited about exploring further. It does have some faults, so it isn’t one I would consider releasing, but I see a lot of potential in what it could produce in the future. Sometimes the most important plants in a breeding program are not the finished product, but the stepping stones that help lead you there.

This first year is the biggest seedling I had this season. She was a last minute seedling I squeezed in later in a spare...
15/05/2026

This first year is the biggest seedling I had this season. She was a last minute seedling I squeezed in later in a spare spot. Her colour varied from white, creamy/pale yellow with a brush of pink hue on the reverse of the centre. The plant growth itself wasn't huge which was nice as the flowers popped up above the growth beautifully on their long strong stems. The last photo is it next to West Coast (although its an older bloom) its sometimes nice to see seedlings next to known varities for size. How would you describe its colour?

2nd year Dahlia Seedlings 🌿I was tough this round, narrowing down what’s coming into a third season. It really is true t...
06/05/2026

2nd year Dahlia Seedlings 🌿
I was tough this round, narrowing down what’s coming into a third season. It really is true that once the new first year seedlings start opening, it suddenly feels easier to let more of last year’s go. The new ones raise the bar every time.

A few of these are staying for specific reasons.

2, 3, 4 and 15 were from seed I received from

1. CAL seedling with the beautiful pink and latte colours we love but better form
2. A stunning pink called DEAR My Beloved
3. I've nicknamed this one Zinni as it reminds me of a Zinnia. It also has the most ruffled bum.
4. The yellow is allowed to stay as a cut flower for me. I just don’t have a named variety that gives me a yellow I love in the vase.
5. A nice workhorse pink
6. A lovely big white with lots of petals and almost green centre
7. This beautiful pearl like dahlia pumps out blooms all season with long stems, dusting of purple on the centre and goes with so many other dahlias
8. A pretty waterlily that I hope to breed from.
9. A lovely peachy/pinkie/brownie breannon babe
10. The petal density on this is off the charts but I want to plant it in a better spot to see if the stems can support the weight a bit better.
11. This one is called DEAR Aslan but it didnt do as well this season but in the same spot as 10.
12. RUffled brown, pink and white with the open centres isn’t perfect, but I’m keeping it for the colour and to breed from again. I’m so curious to see what it could produce.
13. It is actually a really pretty bloom but I didn't get a good photo.
14. It sometimes pink and sometimes a bit purple. Lovely full bloom and as a cut flower it lasted days.
15. This white is so large and ruffly, she's gorgeous and romantic.
16. Its this gorgeous white with creamy pink Hue
17. Similar to 16 but the petals are actually different shape. Its shape and angle are great for bouquet work.
18. The black leaves and hot pink are an awesome contrast.

I may still cull a couple early next season as there are a few traits I’m not completely sold on, but for now I’m really happy with where I’ve landed.

Which ones do you love?✨

I just love a ruffle bum on a dahlia seedling 🤭! Don’t you? When the petals wrap all around the back in all their fluffy...
28/04/2026

I just love a ruffle bum on a dahlia seedling 🤭! Don’t you? When the petals wrap all around the back in all their fluffy cuteness? Haha, okay… maybe I took it too far there, but you get what I’m saying, right?

When I first started growing from seed two years ago, I got some from , and this is one that Bec bred.

I’ve nicknamed it “Zinni” for the zinnia vibes it gives me. I’ll admit these are end-of-season photos, so the stems have gone a little weak, but the petal count is still up there. I honestly forgot to take notes on its stem quality 🙈 so for now, I’m bringing it into its third season!

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