Benny, its way better then a trip to the candy store! But that is a pretty good description. Its fun to see all the other dahlia folk with their little notebooks adding to their lists as we walk around.
I just have the "cut flowers" panel to do this afternoon then I am free to just be a looker on and enjoy the show today and the last tour on Monday. So tired by the time we got home about 8:30 last night! Its nice having my sister with me for company.
So many of the participants here are showing flowers of course. I am glad I made the decision to just support them by helping out where help was needed. The folks that have been organizing it all are so tired and still busy doing up their entries last night.
anniecan Aug 30, 2014 7:47 AM PDT
Name: Annie Luck Apex, North Carolina BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN TH
Noni, yes it sounds like more eye candy than I can comprehend .
Could you possibly cram a little bit more into your day???
IN total relax mode here for another hour at least. AND it s POURING RAIN! Good day for inside dahlia viewing While it was just a mist I walked through my garden, doing those little things that we do, dead-heading, disbudding, tucking stray stems back into the grid...
So glad I wasn't planning to do Saturday Market today, but sorry for my friend who is selling my flowers. Maybe it will be a brief shower but they should be setting up right now.
Just thought you would like to know and approve that I am seated on the couch with laptop, wrapped in a blanket and enjoying the unusual sound of rain falling right now : We should be on the ferry in a bit less then 2 hours.
I enjoyed the show and some phenomenal dahlias! Our seminar went well and was rather fun to do.. we had quite a lot of different approaches to selling dahlias between the 3 of us. Dan of Dan's Dahlias grows and sells huge numbers, and the other man on our panel runs a floral business not far from Washington DC and does a huge volume of wedding work. I definitely have a smaller business but you all know how passionate I am about it. And it brings joy to a lot of people in my community. Its good to know that what ever way we fall for dahlias that there is a way for us to make them part of our life.
I was going to stay for the awards banquet tonight but having my sister and husband in tow, realized how tired I was and that they were too tired to ask them to stay around the city until late, so that I could get home. At that moment I realized just how ready I was to go home and put my feet up, and how stopping for Greek food at our favorite restaurant would possibly be a more pleasant way to end the day. I was so glad to walk into my house and take my shoes off this evening!
We still have the tour on Monday that will go to Mak's, Clearview, and AC Dahlias. I imagine that will be awesome and hope the rain moves on before then.
anniecan Aug 31, 2014 3:12 AM PDT
Name: Annie Luck Apex, North Carolina BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN TH
My camera has been co-operating as far as allowing me 25 photos a day. It is somehow stuck on making wider photos then normal. Will try to find an instruction guide today on how to reset it. but anyhow, these were the ones my sister and I liked best at the Pt Defiance Test Garden on the day of the tour.
continued below
Our last tour stop of the day was that of the home of "Narrows" dahlias, Ken and Marilyn Walton. As you can see, the Narrows Bridge is in their daily view from their beautiful home here overlooking Puget Sound. Every flower looked perfect but it was the total effect that was stunningly beautiful! Narrows Brooks...I think I need this one!
DahliaGardener Sep 1, 2014 11:37 AM PDT
Name: Cynthia BG, KY USDA Zone 6b Sanity = Dirt under your nails...
My camera didn't work in Canby on Saturday. So I had to use my new phone. Now I have to figure out how to get the pix from the phone to the computer... Pbbbt!
C DG
CCvacation Sep 8, 2014 8:39 PM PDT
Name: CC PA
Bob Romano's show garden
Second year seedling 'heartbreak row'
Perfect form, so-so color, no need for it, so it goes away next year.
Pom Lane
They are far away from the other show varieties to keep from cross-pollinating. These are Judy's babies.
teddahlia Sep 8, 2014 8:50 PM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
Very interesting. Thanks for posting. Several years ago one of our club members grew and exhibited very successfully Windhaven Highlight and it looked spectacular. And we used to grow Windhaven Blush.
CCvacation Sep 8, 2014 9:01 PM PDT
Name: CC PA
What was startling is how many ripe blooms in fine condition there were in Bob's garden...the Windhaven Blush plants alone were filled to the brim, the garden not looking like he took a full van load to the show that morning.
I added to the earlier post, if you want to take another look, Ted.
I'll add some more show picts as I get time. Oh, here's a nice one I'll throw in right now...head table. John Spangenberg entry.
Wowzer of a Pink Tigress! Either I need to be shading mine or he has an amazingly darker variation on it!!
Some really lovely blooms in there! THanks, CC
drewtheflorist Sep 9, 2014 5:28 AM PDT
Name: Drew the Florist 14 miles S E of Pittsburgh
Bob feeds a very weak solution DAILY and the foliage on the flowers he brings to the show is amazing.
CCvacation Sep 9, 2014 5:34 AM PDT
Name: CC PA
Regarding HH Pink Tigress:
John said that he preselects & marks the blooms when they are still closed earlier that week, and had cut them when it was dark. When he came in to work on them, he found that one of the three blooms had that lighter variegation. He tossed it, and headed out to the garden to try to find another one to match the trio.
I had gotten a cutting from Drew, whom you had sent a tuber, and all the blooms are the lighter variegation...
The tuber I bought from you never sprouted, but perhaps other tubers you dispersed has the original dark variegation. The original is quite striking, and worth obtaining. This lighter variegation doesn't catch the eye quite as much, but has a subtle beauty that is nice. Not sure if I'm going to keep it... Depends on how many I have to eliminate from this season.
Oh, very interesting. I grew at least 2 plants in different locations last year and thought it just was the difference in location, but maybe it was that darker variation on one instead. I think I only grew one plant this year and it is the lighter version. It made about a lot of speghetti tubers last year and I think I warned folks it might not make it. I hope the tubers mature earlier and bigger this year. The light version is pretty but I really like the darker striping.
teddahlia Sep 9, 2014 8:19 AM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
Hollyhill Pink Tigress varies in colors as do many variegated flowers. Usually the variations go back to the original at some point but you can never be sure. Of course, it sported to solid red too and most of those stayed solid but at least one is back to variegated and it is the darker version. On our website the picture from 2013 is the lighter version. As I take pictures in the next several weeks, I will try to take some of the different versions.
We were looking at one interesting flower at the test garden yesterday. It was basically dark red with some white petals near the back, but it varied all over the place. One variant that was cute as could be was little red stripes on white...looked like it would definitely taste of peppermint! Far too unstable to sell as a particular color or to win prizes, but we were wondering if there was a way to save the peppermint one. Would a cutting of that branch, if one could root it, tend to stay that way or would it more likely continue with the wide range of potential varigations? It would make a wonderful cut flower!
. 
AND it s POURING RAIN! Good day for inside dahlia viewing 
While it was just a mist I walked through my garden, doing those little things that we do, dead-heading, disbudding, tucking stray stems back into the grid...
Tahoma Lilac
Bloomquist Kelly
Lakeview Illusion
Bloomquist Sunrays (if it is the same as the seedling named that at Connells, which looks just like it). What ever it is I need it!
Mexico
Narrows Brooks...I think I need this one!
