Nothing special here, right? Two more beautiful varieties of Dahlias have finally blossomed. They're similarly shaped, the "round" or "button" type of these flowers as I call them, as opposed to the wild starburst or spider type, or the subtle daisy-like flowers of other Dahlias. The white and magenta bloom is a bit fuller than the solid color, but in a day or two I have a feeling they will even out.
So what's wrong with this picture? Both flowers are from the exact same plant!
I've never seen a single Dahlia plant blossom with two completely different colored flowers. I can only imagine that it's a hybridized plant corm, that for some reason has reverted to its base stock for one flower. I have no idea which would be the base form, maybe the solid color? Early in the season, I pinched back the young plants to make them grow fuller. The white/pink blossom is on one of the larger stems that grew from the pinching and the the solid pink is on the other large stem.
Hard to see the base here, but this is the entire plant, only about 30 inches high. I had to hold the stems together to get the top shot, they're quite far apart as you can see in the second photo, but I assure you that's all one plant. I love it! June calls them 'fraternal twins' which I wish I had thought of myself!
CASEY DOES ANYONE HELP YOU WITH ALL THE GARDENING? ALSO ARE YOUR FLOWERS PLANTED ALL IN ONE AREA IN THE BACK OF YOUR HOUSE? THE DAHLIAS ARE SO PRETTY. I JUST WONDER IF THEY WOULD GROW DOWN HERE IN FLORIDA. IF I REMEMBER I THINK THEY HAVE TO HAVE COOL WEATHER TO SHINE.
ReplyDeleteGRANNY
We have someone take care of the lawn every week, and they trim the larger shrubs etc, but I take care of all of the flowers myself. I've bought them all, or were given them all, too. They're all over the yard, some in the front, some in the shaded area on the side and now the big new backyard where the veggie garden is. I planted all the zinnias and dahlias around the outside of the veggie garden, but they haven't done as well as in years past in the front, so I might plant them in the front again next year. I've been taking care of plants for the past 20 years or so. I had landscaped my mother's house with 10 times as many flowers as I have here. the 2 acres around her house only had grass pathways between the different perennial gardens, almost no lawn at all. We had so many compliments every year, and after a while, people that divided their own flowers would just bring them to me to plant in our yard because they knew I'd really take care of them. I miss that yard. When the house was sold the new owners bulldozed the entire 2 acres and planted grass. they probably lost $50,000 in perennials, some old stock that went back 100 or more years. Idiots!
ReplyDeleteFraternal twins is the perfect description! I think your theory is totally correct - and I would lay bets on the fact that the pink blossom was the original. I have bought annuals over the years that have had the "odd man out" so I know it happens. They are both very beautiful, but the white/pink mix is the showstopper. Did you get these from Mary ?
ReplyDeleteIt sickens me to hear the story about your Mom's property. All the time, money and love that went into that garden. Lost on new owners without a clue. Were you able to save any of the plants ?
Yes, Mary gave me the corms for my birthday. She's done that for the past 3-4 years. She gets them from a nursery in Oregon, a catalog store. They come with the name of the vareity stamped right into the corm—pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteMy mother's house was sold in a February/March period so I wasn't able to take any of the flowers. I DO have some now, but only because I had given some to Mary through the years, who was our next door neighbor, and she then divided the ones in her yard and let me have some. THere were flowers blooming from the April through November in that yard.
GOOD SATURDAY MORNING TO YOU ALL.
ReplyDeleteWHERE WAS EVERYONE YESTERDAY? WHAT A DULL DAY. MARIUS, I HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT BIRTHDAY. YOU NEVER SHOWED UP FOR YOUR PARTY UNLESS YOU CAME OVER TO ANNIE LATE LAST NIGHT. YOU KNOW ME, TO BED EARLY BUT I DID STAY UP WAITING FOR YOU TO SEE YOUR SURPRISE. OH WELL, THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR.
HURRICANE SEASON IS IN FULL SWING AND I FOR ONE HATE IT.THREE IN THE ATLANTIC. TWO WON'T TOUCH US BUT THE 3RD ONE COULD HIT US . WE NEVER KNOW UNTIL IT GETS TO THE STATES.BERMUDA IS SUPPOSE TO GET A DIRECT HIT. 30 HOURS OF BAD WINDS. OMG HELP THEM.DEADLY RIP CURRENTS EVEN HERE IN FLORIDA. I HOPE PEOPLE USE COMMON SENSE WHEN GOING INTO THE WATER.
THANKS GOODNESS FOR YOUR BLOG CASEY. I CAN COME HERE AND GET MY MIND OFF THESE THINGS.I MAY EVEN MAKE SOME BREAD TODAY. BLESS THOSE BREAD MACHINES. LOL
GRANNY
Morning Granny !
ReplyDeleteSomething tells me that you'll be fine - my sister lives outside of Orlando and if it was going to be that bad she would have been on the phone with me. I'm sure it will miss Tampa.
Good Morning Casey, Granny and X - Yes, odd day yesterday, I've come down with something ? cough and scratchy throat, no temp. though. So I'm just going to let it run its course and lie low and read my book or watch TV.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry Marius missed his birthday surprise, I was so excited about it as I baked the cake and decorated it. Oh, well the best laid plans of mice and men... I hope he is OK Perhaps this current visit with Ennui has stayed longer that expected.
ANNIE, YOU DID A GOOD JOB ON HIS BIRTHDAY. I WISH YOU WOULD'VE KEPT IT ON YOUR BLOG LONGER, MAYBE MARIUS WENT OUT OF TOWN. TO FUNNY NOT TO SHARE WITH HIM. AT LEAST YOU TRIED.GRAMPS EVEN GOT A CHUCKLE.
ReplyDeleteCASEY. I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THE PEOPLE TURNING THE LAND INTO A LAWN AND NOT GIVING A RATS YOU KNOW WHAT ABOUT ALL THE BEAUTY FLOWERS CAN BRING.I'VE BEEN THERE AND I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL. PEOPLE JUST DON'T CARE LIKE BACK IN MY TIME. I'VE WATCH FLORIDA BEING DESTROYED FOR MONEY HUNGREY, GREEDY PEOPLE. STRIP THE LAND, PUT HOUSES ON IT, THEN RUN WITH THEIR POCKETS FULL OF MONEY. THEN THE BOTTOM FALL OUT AND SOME BUILDERS [MANY] FELL ON THEIR FACES. I ALWAYS FELT SORRY FOR ALL THE ANIMALS. WHERE CAN THEY RUN TOO?
GRANNY