A couple more blooms from 7/20/2013

Hope you like them. Thank you for your time.

We in the northeast are getting jealous!

Lovely dahlias. What are their names?

Thank you Arlene.

The dark one is Karma Chocolate and the other one is Karma Corona.

very nice!

Thank you Gypsi.

Those are really pretty. Never seen either for sale at where I buy. Where did you get them?

LOL....notice I'm already planning next year?

Morganc,
Thank you for your kind words.

I got them from Brent and Becky's.

Good luck.

My dahlias are finally starting to open. As soon as the new computer is up and running I will post pics.

Good luck Oberon46. I am sure you will enjoy them.

Oberon - I can't wait, last year you had some beauties.

Here is another one of mine that opened.....but.....it's NOT supposed to look like this. It's called Chilson's Pride and should be pink with a white center. You can barely see some pink in it.

Holy cow. Doesn't look at all like what I had. Lost the tuber but it was huge and a gorgeous white fading to pink. I will buy it again one of these days. Yours looks like something is bothering it. Not just the color. Mine was in full sun from noon into the evening. Remembering that our sun and air is cool (except for this year). Oh, Garden Treasure has opened fully now. Snapping pictures right and left.

morganc, a lovely one. The pink is very light. However, the colors and hues may vary depending on temperature and soil, and even sometimes just between two plants of the same cultivar. That is nature's fickleness.

Just beautiful. If the grasshopper doesn't get it I am expecting my first bloom. Maybe.

I'm excited for you Gypsi....

Majia - I hope nature's fickleness will give me a few pinks

Mardy Gras has opened. And getting more American Beauty.
But my fave color this year is Firepot.

Beautiful blooms morganc. Keep the pics coming.

One of my all time favorites also. Lost it last winter but I will certainly order it again. The colors are fantastic. Your third picture really captures it well.

Such nice photos! We have Firepot, too, and I am looking forward to seeing it bloom.

One of you two - pirl or oberon - posted this last year and I fell in love. That is why we had to build the entire raised Dahlia garden this year.....LOL....for that one plant.
I have two of them but one has not bloomed yet, go figure.

Here is a pic of Raz Ma Taz, taken with my new camera. I'm just learning to use this camera.....not point and shoot anymore.....this was for my photography class homework.

I only bought Raz Ma Taz this year so it must have been Mary.

That's another great color and I hope mine looks that good. I'd give you an A in photography!

Morganc, nice work. What camera did you get? The blossom is beautiful, the colors are great and the background is nicely blurred out. Try a couple of more things and see if you like the result better. These are just regurgitation of standard composition stuff, so you may have already read about it, but I thought I mention it. I am crazy about photography, so please pardon if I am crossing a line.

1. Use a higher f-stop. I say use a shutter speed of 1/125 second, a f-stop of f/11, and ISO 200, assuming similar lighting. Please check your histogram and make adjustments as necessary. I think take two images with f/8 and f/11, and see how you like them. I think you will get more depth of field and more parts of the flower will be in focus.

2. Make sure that you get the entire flower in the frame and not cut off any petals. Also, some space around the petals will give it some breathing room.

3. Move the flower more towards the left of the frame so that it has more space as it "looks" towards the right of the frame. That way it will appear that it is not constricted to a small frame.

Play with the a variation of the themes above and enjoy your camera. There is nothing more fun than playing with flowers and a camera :)

Majia - omg, you speak SLR-eze!

pirl - it wasn't the Raz Ma Taz i was taken with last year........it was the Firepot.

Sorry. It's probably still Mary's photo because I think I only bought mine this year though I have had it in the past.

Yes, I posted Firepot. It was my first (and last) year and I just loved it. I will probably add it to my fall order this year. I have one called Lullabye that is new this year and was supposed to be quite special but other than being large and yellow it isn't too impressive. Not quite the colors I expected. I may write and inquire about it.

I have Karma Choc myself and just love the deep color.

My dahlias are going to be late this year. I got them in late. Looking forward to them flowering though.

Love all your photos.

morganc... once you start playing with your camera, you will start speaking that too.. :)

Carolyn22, post your pics when they bloom. Thank you for your kind words.

Oh, I've been playing with the camera, Majia.........

Here is American Beauty taken Friday afternoon......

I still have 2 or 3 more plants that are budding but haven't bloomed yet. I keep forgetting that most bloom late summer or early fall.

Gorgeous. Reminds me of one of my favorite heirlooms

Very nice Morganc... please keep on posting.

Gorgeous. Love the deep color.

Hockley Maroon!! That was the name that I couldn't remember for the red heirloom.

Oberon - do you suppose it's the same Dahlia? I looked up Hockley Maroon and they look identical. I think every place that sells them calls them something different.

Has anyone grown a Giraffe Dahlia? I saw a pic of one and fell in love. They come in gold and pink.

These are not my pics......

Morgan

I have never heard of Giraffe dahlia, but I really like them. The form is beautiful as well as the colors.

I think I remember someone mentioning them last year plus I saw them on one of the dahlia vendors sites. Not sure which.

The deep reds or maroons are so similar, who knows. I prefer the maroon or dark blood red ones to the more orange ones.

Giraffe dahlias (old thread): http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/575556/?hl=%5C%22giraffe+dahlia%5C%22

Our own internal data researcher. lol Thanks Arlene

Glad to help. I know how frustrating it can be to try and find something. Was it what you wanted?

Just what I was looking for! Thank you Arlene.

Wow! Looks like a hot ticket item!

Here's more about it from online and they mention Dutch Gardens. I'd buy any lilies, tubers, bulbs, from them but not perennials based upon my own experience with them for many years. http://susansinthegarden.blogspot.com/2013/02/giraffe-dahlias.html

And more...in pink: http://www.dahliadivas.com/home/ddv/page_113_9/pink_giraffe.html

Two Giraffe dahlias here but while you're scrolling down take a look at Fire and Ice. Now I wish I hadn't seen it! Great photos! http://www.homestead.grimloc.net/

I have already sent off my lily order for this fall but am holding off on the dahlias. Lullabye from Swan Island is a new one, very spendy, and gorgeous in the picture on line. But I think it requires some shade to be anything but a huge yellow bloom. Very healthy, many 7" blooms but the faint lavender tint to the ends of the petals is not evident here. As I said, I think either it is my soil or it requires less sun to allow the delicate tint.