My garden is in bloom right now and looking rather radiant. The Dahlias are flowering and looking absolutely glorious. FlyBoy was at Bunnings a couple of weeks ago and saw a stand with little pots of “potted colour”.
They weren’t blooming at the time, just green leaves and closed buds, with the promise of flowers. He didn’t know what they were, but came home with a half dozen pots, to plant in the garden.
Turns out, the pots were filled with Dahlias, all preparing to bloom. Did you know that there are over 30 varieties of Dahlias?
My grandfather always loved dahlias and I remember as a child, his garden was always filled with large, bright blooms. Dahlias are hardy plants and they still bloom regularly in his front garden without any special care or attention... even though he passed away 25 years ago, his dahlias live on.
We’re inspired right now and I even went so far as to order seeds from eBay to plant in early spring.
FlyBoy is hoping to cultivate some beautiful blooms which he can enter into the local show early next year.
Now, onto my roses. I have iceberg roses in my garden, and some of the plants have been afflicted with terrible little aphids. These little things are terrors and even after spraying them with white oil, they continue to hang around.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to rid my roses of them?
Dahlia’s – do you have any in your garden?
Any tips on how to produce “show winning” blooms?
plant some chives at the base of your roses - the plants will absorb the odor and aphids hate to eat the rose bush as a result - this worked for me
ReplyDeleteyour garden is looking lovely for being so new... I did hear that soapy water poured over helps rid the aphids....
ReplyDeleteHugz
I heard if you spray milk
ReplyDeleteSpray with warm soapy water xx it works
ReplyDeleteWe have the dreaded aphids in my part of the world too and I use a organic spray that I purchase at the local food store, it works and doesn't harm the rest of the garden or the environment. Your Dahlias are beautiful, bet your dad is proud of you for keeping them looking so gorgeous. My roses do well in the early part of summer, but then the dry heat of summer does a number on them. My tea roses are the most resistant and enjoy them. Pansies are my favorite and they can handle the dry heat. I like to use pansy fabric in my quilts. Thanks for sharing and here is wishing that the aphids go away, the soapy water is much like the spray I use.
ReplyDeleteI adore your site, particularly when you mention the weather, plants, etc.. Yesterday I was peeking at the spot where my dahlias bloomed last fall. Now the ground is cold and muddy and I hope they have made it thru the winter under their protective cover of a plastic table cloth and 2-3" of mulch. A little worried am I because the ground is so muddy under the plastic and no signs of stalks above ground level. Here in Oregon, USA, we have had unusual torrential rain storms, which have raised the water table. Enjoy your dahlias. Thanks for your fun, uplifting blog.
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