09/05/2026
Good afternoon - it's a beautiful start to the Labor Day weekend!βοΈ
As mentioned in prior posts, it's been a crappy year for gardening of any kind, and my flowers are no different. While the ones I'd started from seed were growing quite well in their protected environment, others were stalled waiting for a place to grow. And by the time the soil was warmed enough to allow planting, 3 to 4 weeks had already been lost in the growing season.
Pictured are my seedlings, still inside as of May 31 - outgrowing their transplant pots & reaching for the sky, but too tender to endure the nighttime lows. The daytime highs were nothing to speak of, either - while it was getting into the 60s, the air still had a bite to it that most of these varieties wouldn't tolerate, and during the first week of June frosts were still in the forecast. As hardening off slowly became doable, it was only a couple hours at a time. And carrying all those plants outside and taking them all back in is very time consuming for an hour or two of sunlight and breeze.
You can imagine how each passing day with unfavorable conditions frustrated me, but that's the reality of gardening/farming - patience is paramount. As much as I wanted to get back into the dirt, it wasn't the practical thing to do until things settled down.
And settle, they did - but just like that, it became unbearably hot, accompanied by a long dry spell.
A late start. Then temperatures and aridity that are taxing to the most established plants, let alone new starts. Ugh....
In the midst of all these setbacks, I was also busy with current order volume and my part time job.
I do not order plugs. Everything I plant is either from seeds I started, or bulbs/tubers that I've pulled from storage. I do this all by myself, so being delayed by weather doesn't take long to go from snowball to avalanche for a solopreneur - but I've done it for decades, and my passion didn't waver despite all the obstacles.
Given all of this, the answer to "where are all your dahlias this year?" is readily explained - they're a month behind, so where I'm at right now is typical of late July/early August. And I do use them in my arrangements, so they're being cut faster than they can bloom - which is also adding to the fun, because shorter, cooler days also means reblooming doesn't occur as quickly with plants that are still using vital nutrients to push out the first blooms of the season. The sea of green out there is getting a little more color each day, but will the display be what you're accustomed to seeing?
The simple answer is.....no. I'll be lucky if I see a bloom on some of these before it's time to dig.
But that's ok - I accept what it is, and look forward to next season. It's the reality of local, field grown anything in northwestern Pennsylvania. Once in a while, you get that "off" year - and this was one of them.
I hope this puts to rest some of the speculation regarding the lack of wall to wall color that's normally my yard this time of year - and, honestly, the best person to ask should you be wondering is probably the pea brain behind it all - me.π©πΌβπΎ Will I divulge proprietary information? Absolutely not. But I will always be transparent about my operations here should any misinformation be making the rounds.
So.....the last couple of pictures are some of the new faces who are fixing to make an appearance for the first time this season. Yes, they're late. Yes, they may end up cut and in a vase before you see them in passing. But they're here....of that, I can assure you.
I've always been proud of my work, and proud of the beautiful blooms that are a result - there are no shortcuts here. Just an old lady who has a long standing passion for these and other unique flowers, and truly loves growing them and using them in custom boutique arrangements. π
