What an enchanting garden she has..I always wonder how much work went into keeping it that way, knowing how hard that is for me. I sure admire a family that can make that happen and wish I could hire a year round maintainance person to carry out my ideas. Do tell me she doesn't do all the work herself?
luvflowers Sep 23, 2014 12:42 PM PDT
Thanks for the photos, Ted. Parks has a huge & incredible garden! Does she get a lot of rain there?
teddahlia Sep 23, 2014 12:52 PM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
(1) Christy Parks probably does 90% of the work herself. He mows the lawn, tills up the soil and stuff like that. She plants everything and waters, and weeds and harvests. They are mostly organic and use manure. And yes, she also has a 40 hour a week job. I quote her: " There are 3 hours a day before I have to go to work and that is enough time."
(2) It rains very little there and they have not seen rain in about a month. They irrigate out of a small creek and a low volume well. It is very dry there and the lawn is only half green. The giant Douglas Fir trees give off some shade to all the dahlias.
honnat Sep 23, 2014 9:46 PM PDT
St. Paul, MN
Thanks for taking the time to share that Ted. What a beautiful backdrop. It's nice to have back stories on growers. I find it helpful in choosing who to order from rather than just a pdf catalog or something.
I suggest we ask her if we can have a campout and dahlia retreat there....
anniecan Sep 24, 2014 7:47 AM PDT
Name: Annie Luck Apex, North Carolina BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN TH
Me too Geof!
Benny101 Sep 24, 2014 4:57 PM PDT
Greenville MI - zone 5b
Great photos , beautiful homestead they have there .
Love the dahlia munching heifer at Clack's that's what you could call a mobile composter . I wonder if she has a preference of color or variety :-)
CCvacation Sep 24, 2014 9:58 PM PDT
Name: CC PA
'Mobile composter'
The girls and I offered the two horses next door some deadhead blooms, and they were pretty disgusted at the gesture. At least if they find their way in the rows, the dahlias will be safe from munching.
PNWGal Sep 26, 2014 12:07 AM PDT
Name: Linda Portland OR, zone 8b
Yep, no mountainous deadhead piles at Clacks! That heifer followed us all along the parts of the fence she could reach, clearly waiting for dahlias to be thrown her way. If cows could sit up and beg....
Benny101 Sep 26, 2014 5:17 PM PDT
Greenville MI - zone 5b
We had perfect weather for a trip to Dahlia Hill today , lots of nice blooms to see .
We did a last deadheading today at the Test Garden. Next Monday we cut them down and dig the ones that are to be dug. They were so pretty when we drove up to the park today...It will be a bit sad to see them go, though I can certainly use another half day a week here, and need to rejoin my water exercise class for the arthritis. BUt I have had such a good time working there this summer and observing the plants that are growing. Almost can't wait to start again next year
There are several that I really want to add to my own garden. That pale creamy yellow ball has been so lovely all summer, and I have nothing like that. Today I was looking at a small magenta cactus(About the size of Lakeview Glow, with white tips and thinking what fun it would be to work with. It was so loaded with nice little flowers it was totally amazing!
anniecan Sep 30, 2014 6:24 PM PDT
Name: Annie Luck Apex, North Carolina BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN TH
What fun Noni! So glad that you had that opportunity :thumbsup:
I can't wait to see some sort of dahlia farm with my own eyes
Well, I recognize the Sandia ones from our test garden. But that AA Lavender...wow! I sure like the pic and it wasn't at our garden. I think the Hollyhills will look good in ANY Garden (wink). They have been so floriferous, we have been joking about not allowing any pom and Mball entries because of all the dead heading it takes. We had a lot besides the Hollyhills ones this year.
Well, I recognize the Sandia ones from our test garden. But those AA Lavender...wow! I sure like the pic and they weren't at our garden. I think the Hollyhills will look good in ANY Garden (wink). They have been so floriferous, we have been joking about not allowing any pom and Mball entries because of all the dead heading it takes. We had a lot besides the Hollyhills ones this year. I think at least 3 other red mballs though one of them might be a pom. I will be interested in how the judging came out on all the different ones.
honnat Oct 15, 2014 7:15 PM PDT
St. Paul, MN
Of those photos, I'm liking the River's Sonia the most; but I think if I saw more photos of those HH MBs, I'd probably be liking those just as much.
OK, this is the 3rd time I have started this post today...Lets see if I can get it sent before it disappears!
Monday I went over to the test Garden thinking that we were going to dig tubers, but I was the only one there. Finally figured out that it is NEXT week we dig. However, I had brought my camera to grab a few last photos. So here is what was happening at the Pt Defiance test garden this week. Note:those that will be dug have already been cut down 10 days ago. So the ones you see are those where the owner is not going to take them home and they will be destroyed.
The first one 2 are the ones my sister and I have been obsessing over...what a beautiful little cut flowers they would make. I can so see these for wedding or birthday table bouquets...
Is this the same as the one you showed, Ted? Yours has quite a bit more color. This is and has been all summer, mostly white with just a hint of lavender and pink It is the largest one at the garden this year and i think it is an AA. I really like it and its still has a few pretty blooms on it.
THis one has the same colors as Hillcrest Kismet. I would buy it! This has been so colorful all summer. The color is a bit less intense then it was in Sept but it is still eye catching. It grows at least 5' tall I think.. and the flowers are big enough to be seen from a distance.
This one is really pretty right now...A lacinated fantasy in hot magenta over white. I think it is bb sized.
And here is Sandia Sunbonnet...love the name for it! I have been enjoying it all summer here. It is tall, and the color is very clean. It always looks nice. I hope to have it in my garden next summer with my yellow roses.
Benny101 Oct 15, 2014 8:30 PM PDT
Greenville MI - zone 5b
What is the difference between HH Lover Boy and HH Rudolf ?
Saw Lover Boy at the show , very nice . I'm in need of a nice red MB next season
I seem to remember Ted explaining to me that HH Loverboy was a good show dahlia but that HH Rudolph made lots more flowers and very nice ones. I have been growing it this year and it is really nice. It is tall,wel,l 4-5' and just covered with beautiful non fading flowers. I don't know how the test scores will be on it, but in my garden it is a total winner...constantly covered in bright red, non fading flowers with nice stems. I have it growing in several different sites around my yard and it has been wonderful in all of them. At the test garden, his HH Hotshot grew right next to HH Rudoph and it was just as nice looking to me, but with the combination of orange and red. It really glowed as Autumn came around. They are about the same size. Hotshot looks like a grown up version of Irish Embers.,,or maybe since it is only a Mball it is an adolscent version.
Is this the same as the one you showed, Ted? Yours has quite a bit more color. This is and has been all summer, mostly white with just a hint of lavender and pink It is the largest one at the garden this year and i think it is an AA. I really like it and its still has a few pretty blooms on it.
THis one has the same colors as Hillcrest Kismet. I would buy it!
This has been so colorful all summer. The color is a bit less intense then it was in Sept but it is still eye catching. It grows at least 5' tall I think.. and the flowers are big enough to be seen from a distance.
This one is really pretty right now...A lacinated fantasy in hot magenta over white. I think it is bb sized.