Dahlias in the Rockies (2)

I'm luving 'Mango Sunset'. New for me this year.

Another 'Pink Attraction' showing more of it true colour.

The silly yellow striped mignons are having fun. Look at the one on the right trying to be a collarette. My fav is the one on the left who made one red petal.

I've changed my mind about Wittem who doesn't hold it's colour. Supposed to be a lavender blend. It has such nice form though I think its a keeper.

'Twilight Time' is still putting on a show.

I luv 'White Perfection' when it starts to open.

'Ferncliff Illusion' still going strong

and ole faithful 'Park Princess'

'Caribbean Fantasy sure has a long bloom life. Look how red its gotten as it aged. I luv dahlias that change colour over time. I'm going to cover this one to see what the next bloom will look like

and I close with D'ete Nuit not fully open but its such a cool dark.

Well, DN, I guess next year I will have to grow Dahlias! Yours are so beautiful. Yes l like Wittern, even if it looks pure white and I love that last one, D'ete Nuit. Do send us a photo when it is fully open!
I went to Roybird's house this weekend and she had a lovely bouquet of dahlias, Park Princess, I think, on her kitchen table. Lovely!

Will do paj. I'm covering the D'ete Nuits in both locations to extend the bloom. We go down under for 3 straight nights starting tomorrow :O I spent the weekend trying to decide who to save and who to let go. Normally my dahlias have been blooming for awhile so its not so hard but this year is tough. I have guilt but I only have so many frost cloths. Look at the Mango Sunset doing its cool gnarly swirly thing when it starts to open. Now how can you let that go. It's so hard to decide sigh.

So many pretties!

oooo lisabees do I sense another dahliaholic in the making? Dahlias LUV the rockies as you probably know ^_^

You can't let Mango Sunset go. Buy another frost cloth! or use a sheet or old table cloth! it is gorgeous.

I agree with paj... save the Mango! The D'ete Nuits is nice too. What does that mean btw? Great colors...

oops I typed it backwards plutodrive. Its actually called Nuit D'ete which means Night of Summer. Cool name for a dahlia methinks. No worries friends, Mango Sunset will be covered. I'm joining a bunch of sheets together and covering that whole grouping.

Good! Cover them all! I love them. I told D.H. I want all of the old driveway concrete area covered with dahlias next year. In pots if the concrete won't disappear. They are just great. I have been giving away Lots of Park Princess flowers to people for weeks! She toppled over a bit last night and I tied a little fence thing around the pot for support. I forgot to put anything up for her because I didn't think that kind would get that big. Out performs Zingaro, who is no slouch, either.

LOL roybird I don't have enough sheets/curtains to cover the whole lot and I always think every spot needs a dahlia or two so they're scattered around. Perhaps you should discuss ripping out your driveway? Mine will be gone in 2010 and replaced by a luvly new dahlia/rose bed with an apricot and dwarf apple and a bistro sitting area. Can you tell I've been dreaming about this for awhile? Ya sometimes Princess needs to be staked if she has a lot of blooms happening and it rains or is windy. Pretty sturdy though usually. How tall did yours get? Mine are pretty true - around 22".

I think mine are a little taller, maybe around 28". I would love to have that concrete removed. I've already built one bed on top of it and D.H. is always nervous about pipes and lines. I do have an apricot tree over-hanging the area!

I think you could remove the concrete without worry about pipes and lines. Usually they are buried and if they are broken it wouldn't be all that difficult to repair them. Normally pipes and lines are below the concrete. In a house's slab, there might be more of a problem, but I have heard of people jackhammering slabs as well ( to repair leaks in hot water heating systems.)
A big problem is the work involved in breaking and hauling off concrete. Kevin is probably thinking about whose job that would be!

I dare say you're right! I went to Home Depot once just to buy a heavy wrecking bar thing to break up concrete but I ran in to a friend who talked me out of it. A male friend who knows my D.H., of course. They are all in it together. They don't want to break up concrete or raise chickens!

I bought my own breaking bar at Lowes or Home Depot. My DH's friends didn't find out. I do my own breaking of rock -- no concrete to break. All you do is lift the bar and drop it. Over and over again. It really builds muscle but don't overdo it at first.
Can't help you with chickens. I wanted some too, but bought a cast iron one, cute but not the solution I had in mind. But I can't argue to much because I have given up chicken and eggs -- but I would probably still like to have a few tagging along and eating our vegetable trimmings. They are so cute. Kind of like a dog.

My true luv spent many hours with a sledge hammer breaking up a concrete path for me. WHO KNEW that in 1958 they poured concrete paths 12' deep EEK! We're getting '2 guys with mini-cat' to break up our concrete driveway as I'm sure rebar is involved. Besides we need the front stoop repoured all fancy/dancy like I want so I'm hoping they will give us a package deal (hope, hope).

did I do good?

Personally I think it should be Hallowe'en. How cool is my ghost?

A blue ghost .... ! How scary! Those white ghosts are nothing compared to blue ghosts! Recover the dahlias for Halloween! The trick-or-treaters will be terrified!

If only the CHS had a spooky category I think I might have a chance ^_^ If only I could lure the kidlings into the back yard. Now adays that would mean prison :O Personally I think I could do a great kidling Halloween with my dahlia covers. If I hung spiderwebs and painted eyes on the 'ghosts'? Candles and scarey music? Too bad you can't do it anymore sigh.

Oh, I bet you could. Just put up a sign saying "Ghost House and put little lights along the path to the back yard and admit parents as well. Then you could put on a recording going hooo! hooo! They would love it and so would the parents.
You are on to something big. Blue ghosts are a whole lot scarier that white ones, I have learned from you.

I thought of ghosts, too! They need eyes. Did it freeze?

Only a touch of Jack in the back. Nothing in the front. Of course if I hadn't made ghosts Jack would have attacked with a vengence I'm sure ^_^ We have warnings for the weekend and then we're good again so the ghosts can be put away for awhile.

Glad to hear it! The fall ghost gathering is kind of like the spring hail drill. We are having beautiful, warm sunny days and cool nights. Aphids are out in force! There's always Something!

I keep seeing all the gorgeous photos here and think maybe I should photograph something too. My dahlias are finally starting to look good in the hoop house, guess the grasshoppers are dying off. No longer eating such big holes in the petals.

But have been too darn busy to pick up the camera. Maybe tomorrow. At least someone is taking good dahlia photos, now, who would that be? Ha!

LOL mulch, dahlianut is not a very good incognito name is it? ^_^ I was a little sad today because Jack got a couple of blooms that were touching the ghosts last night. They always look fine first thing and then browwwn (sniff). White Perfection got hurt the pretty bad but the others are ok for the most part so more blooms for moi. They're getting a good drink right now from the rain and it seems Jack has moved off for a while YEAH! The robins are still here which is always a good sign methinks.

I keep getting birds trapped in the hoophouse. They go in the open door and don't all find their way back out before I close it up at night. Mostly goldfinches and blackbirds. They like dining in a warm windfree hoophouse.

I certainly have plenty of bugs in there, they don't bother the plants too much because they are all eating each other. Except, of course, for the infernal grasshoppers.

Dahlianut, I hope your dahlias burst forth in new blooms before Jack returns in earnest! More pics are a good thing...

You need to get chickens MM. Mine this year got dizzy eating grasshoppers. I hardly fed them this summer. maybe 2lbs of laying mash the whole summer. They ate everything that moved. Good girls and I got eggs too.

Sofer,
That is the first thing that made me think I might want chickens myself. I mostly like other people having chickens so I can paint wonderful roosters and eat great eggs. But grasshoppers, well, that is a great idea!

I would love to have chickens, but at the moment I am not allowed to eat eggs. Still I think they would be great for insect and snail control and fresh eggs.

I agree on the chickens, as you know. Still, I'm not sure I'm up for running a poultry farm in our tiny lot. I think there should be a chicken rental business! Then they could go around eating grasshoppers all over town.

You know, roybird, that is a great idea! We could start a rent-a-chicken business and make millions helping people eliminate insects organically -- plus fertilize their yards a little! I'm ready.