Even though it means that winter is inevitably, inexorably creeping up on us, I do love fall (before frost, anyway) for one particular reason - my dahlias are blooming, and oh, the colors! The shades of dahlias, even the most pastel of them, are at once subtle and intense. I've gotten several new ones this year, and at least a couple of them are heirloom varieties from Old House Gardens in Michigan. Two of them appear in this arrangement I quite literally threw together this morning.
The dark maroon dahlias at the base of the arrangement are a newer cultivar called 'Nuit de Ete'. The larger dark pompom type is called 'Karma Choc'; a luscious dark shade that would work well in a chocolate-themed garden. The multi-colored pompom is one of the Old House Gardens heirlooms, 'Kaiser Wilhelm'; the multiple colors make it very adaptable to different companion flowers as well as containers. The other Old House offering is the hot pink-shaded dahlia 'Winsome', a dahlia I fell in love with a few years ago when visiting Stan Hywet Hall in Akron, Ohio. The large, dinner-plate type at the top of the arrangement is another new one for me this year, called 'Vancouver'. It's an indescribable garnet/fuschia shade with vague white edges on the petals - it's a prolific bloomer, and it will be back next season. As an aside, the other flowers appearing here are a couple of small double 'Pamina' Japanese anemones and an aster that I found in a vacant lot in my neighborhood. I have no idea whether it was an escaped garden variety, a chance seedling or what. I just liked the color: petals of a pale blue/violet with a pink center. It plays well with anyone you pair it with, so at this time of year, it's one of my "indispensables".
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