Dahlias from my garden: I have been a dahlia grower for many years. The beauty of these plants provides pleasure on several levels. Of course, they make great photo subjects, but they...

Eff Ess in Ess Eff

I have been a dahlia grower for many years. The beauty of these plants provides pleasure on several levels. Of course, they make great photo subjects, but they add gorgeous color to any site. A bouquet or a single dahlia floating in a bowl makes a terrific table centerpiece. Because my garden space is situated in front of my house, many neighbors stop by to admire them and to tell me how they help to dress up the neighborhood.

To be able to spend time among my dahlias (I grow >100 plants), grooming them, surrounded by all that beauty, to one as addicted as I am, approaches a transcendent experience. Of course, a bottle of fermented grape juice at my side helps.

I used to grow dahlias is the well known dahlia garden in S.F.'s Golden Gate Park until I could't afford the time required to do an adequate job. Visitors from many sites, including foreign countries, would inform me that the garden was on their "must see" list whenever visiting S.F.

A few interesting facts about dahlias: Although many folks think of the "dinner Plate" dahlias their grandmother grew, they come in many forms and sizes (the American Dahlia Society recognize 23 categories). The ADS also recognizes 16 color categories; some are really color blends or mixtures.
You will never see a blue or green dahlia;the plant is genetically incapable of achieving this. Some growers have been trying to hybridize a black dahlia, but there is much debate as to whether these are truly black.

The "flower" is really a composite of many flowers on 1 flower head. Each individual petal is actually a complete flower by itself, with male and female reproductive parts. As such, they are technically referred to as "blooms" rather than flowers.

One last interesting (I hope) fact is that somewhere along their journey from Mexico to the New World and their trips and storage in Europe, they underwent a doubling of their chromosomes and then another doubling, so that they now possess 4 pairs of chromosomes, or 8 single chromosomes. Whereas you and I have 1 pair of chromosomes a designation called "diploid", they are "octoploid". This probably helps account for the great variability in plant forms; with so many genes, there are myriad possibilities for combination to make a new plant.

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rlaugh Loc: Michigan & Florida

Beauties!!

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Beautiful flowers! You need to get together with blacks2 (mike) as he lives near San Francisco and these are his favorite flowers.

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Gorgeous!

Eff Ess in Ess Eff

Thanks for looking in. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos,

Frank

Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.

Great job. My late wife's father won prizes for his Dahlias.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Eff Ess in Ess Eff wrote:

I have been a dahlia grower for many years. The beauty of these plants provides pleasure on several levels. Of course, they make great photo subjects, but they add gorgeous color to any site. A bouquet or a single dahlia floating in a bowl makes a terrific table centerpiece. Because my garden space is situated in front of my house, many neighbors stop by to admire them and to tell me how they help to dress up the neighborhood.

To be able to spend time among my dahlias (I grow >100 plants), grooming them, surrounded by all that beauty, to one as addicted as I am, approaches a transcendent experience. Of course, a bottle of fermented grape juice at my side helps.

I used to grow dahlias is the well known dahlia garden in S.F.'s Golden Gate Park until I could't afford the time required to do an adequate job. Visitors from many sites, including foreign countries, would inform me that the garden was on their "must see" list whenever visiting S.F.

A few interesting facts about dahlias: Although many folks think of the "dinner Plate" dahlias their grandmother grew, they come in many forms and sizes (the American Dahlia Society recognize 23 categories). The ADS also recognizes 16 color categories; some are really color blends or mixtures.
You will never see a blue or green dahlia;the plant is genetically incapable of achieving this. Some growers have been trying to hybridize a black dahlia, but there is much debate as to whether these are truly black.

The "flower" is really a composite of many flowers on 1 flower head. Each individual petal is actually a complete flower by itself, with male and female reproductive parts. As such, they are technically referred to as "blooms" rather than flowers.

One last interesting (I hope) fact is that somewhere along their journey from Mexico to the New World and their trips and storage in Europe, they underwent a doubling of their chromosomes and then another doubling, so that they now possess 4 pairs of chromosomes, or 8 single chromosomes. Whereas you and I have 1 pair of chromosomes a designation called "diploid", they are "octoploid". This probably helps account for the great variability in plant forms; with so many genes, there are myriad possibilities for combination to make a new plant.

I have been a dahlia grower for many years. The be... (show quote)

Outstanding images of the Dahlias from your garden. The blooms you captured are images that belong in a Fine Art Gallery.

Eff Ess in Ess Eff

rlaugh wrote:

Beauties!!

Thanks for looking. Glad you liked them.

Frank

Eff Ess in Ess Eff

UTMike wrote:

Beautiful flowers! You need to get together with blacks2 (mike) as he lives near San Francisco and these are his favorite flowers.

Thanks for looking in. I'm happy that you liked the pix. Also, thanks for suggesting I contact Mike; think I'll do so . I love his work.

Frank

Eff Ess in Ess Eff

PixelStan77 wrote:

Outstanding images of the Dahlias from your garden. The blooms you captured are images that belong in a Fine Art Gallery.

Thanks for checking out my post, and thanks for the high praise. I'm happy that you enjoyed the photos.
Frank

Eff Ess in Ess Eff

Hal81 wrote:

Great job. My late wife's father won prizes for his Dahlias.

Eff Ess in Ess Eff

Hal81 wrote:

Great job. My late wife's father won prizes for his Dahlias.

Thanks for stopping by to look, Hal. Glad you enjoyed the photos, and thanks for the kind remarks.
As I mentioned, many people have memories of parents or grandparents growing dahlias. Often, seeing them brings back pleasant memories.
Frank

Eff Ess in Ess Eff

NMGal wrote:

Gorgeous!

Thanks for looking at my dahlias, and thanks for the kind praise. I'm happy that you enjoyed them'
Frank

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Outstanding.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Eff Ess in Ess Eff wrote:

I have been a dahlia grower for many years. The beauty of these plants provides pleasure on several levels. Of course, they make great photo subjects, but they add gorgeous color to any site. A bouquet or a single dahlia floating in a bowl makes a terrific table centerpiece. Because my garden space is situated in front of my house, many neighbors stop by to admire them and to tell me how they help to dress up the neighborhood.

To be able to spend time among my dahlias (I grow >100 plants), grooming them, surrounded by all that beauty, to one as addicted as I am, approaches a transcendent experience. Of course, a bottle of fermented grape juice at my side helps.

I used to grow dahlias is the well known dahlia garden in S.F.'s Golden Gate Park until I could't afford the time required to do an adequate job. Visitors from many sites, including foreign countries, would inform me that the garden was on their "must see" list whenever visiting S.F.

A few interesting facts about dahlias: Although many folks think of the "dinner Plate" dahlias their grandmother grew, they come in many forms and sizes (the American Dahlia Society recognize 23 categories). The ADS also recognizes 16 color categories; some are really color blends or mixtures.
You will never see a blue or green dahlia;the plant is genetically incapable of achieving this. Some growers have been trying to hybridize a black dahlia, but there is much debate as to whether these are truly black.

The "flower" is really a composite of many flowers on 1 flower head. Each individual petal is actually a complete flower by itself, with male and female reproductive parts. As such, they are technically referred to as "blooms" rather than flowers.

One last interesting (I hope) fact is that somewhere along their journey from Mexico to the New World and their trips and storage in Europe, they underwent a doubling of their chromosomes and then another doubling, so that they now possess 4 pairs of chromosomes, or 8 single chromosomes. Whereas you and I have 1 pair of chromosomes a designation called "diploid", they are "octoploid". This probably helps account for the great variability in plant forms; with so many genes, there are myriad possibilities for combination to make a new plant.

I have been a dahlia grower for many years. The be... (show quote)

Great images!!!