Celebrating gardens, photography and a creative life
If the dahlia world had royalty, Dahlia ‘Café au Lait’ would be right at the top. It’s probably the most magnificent, best loved and most widely photographed flower on the planet. As it doesn’t (have royalty), it has been deemed necessary to invent some. Continue reading “Dahlia ‘Café au Lait Royal’”
Gresgarth Hall has a walled kitchen garden where fruit trees and vegetables grow alongside flowers for cutting, depending on the season. I was about to describe the dahlia I photographed there as bicoloured, but could not ignore the flush of peach that gives it a sophisticated look. A tricolour, then. I know someone out there is going to want to grow this when they see it, but unless an identification appears in the comments below, I have no idea what it is. The orange blurs in the background are nasturtiums and the feathery foliage, nigella. Continue reading “A Red And White Dahlia With An Exclamation Mark”
While visiting the flower shows this year, I was drawn to a colour thread represented by the flowers I’m showing here. I’d filed the pictures as Clarets thinking ‘Anyone for claret?’ would be a good post title, but reluctantly concluded that claret was stretching things too far…
though not quite so far as the liberties taken in naming this ‘New Vintage Violet’…
or this ‘Dark Angel Violet’. Plant names are a minefield at the best of times, even before you add colour into the mix. Continue reading “Name The Colour Of These Flowers”
Dahlia ‘Twyning’s After Eight’ is one of the most popular of the dark foliage dahlias. The flowers are large and luminous, with pale pink veins and golden yellow centres, making a beautiful contrast with the purple-black foliage.
I had always assumed that this dusky dahlia was linked to Twinings tea, despite the ‘y’, the apostrophe and the thought of tea in the evening. In my rose days, I got several calls from their marketing team, keen to forge an alliance. Now I suspect Cadbury’s After Eights may have been the inspiration.
