24 February 2009

Quick detour because the sun is shining

Got a question the other day from a friend that got my gardening juices (not leachate!) flowing. She wanted to know what I would be planting this year. Yowza. Those are dangerous words for me after a real Chicago winter.

The short answer is this: everything I can get my hands on. Sadly, that won't be as much as I planted last year (Pete and I discussed my obsessive gardening overspending last year, and the issue has been put to rest. It's so 2008 to overspend on gardening, right? Right? Hmmmm.)

To be more specific: fell in love with dahlias last year. They were blooming beautifully in my garden way into October. I know they're a little high maintenance for Chicago -- you have to dig up their tubers after the first frost, clean them off and hang them somewhere to overwinter. (I got the dig up and dust off part right -- but I think I left them on our back porch over the winter, and I'm thinking they're candidates for the outdoor composting bin at this mushy point.) However, I'm all for celebrating small success -- gorgeous blooms -- and working on past issues -- not remembering to hang the tubers before the first snow. So I'm back to dahlias.

Dahlias. Ahhhhhh. Some of the ones I ordered this year:

Dahlia Melody Allegro, from Whiteflower Farm









Dahlia Karma Corona, also from Whiteflower Farm










Dahlia Karma Fuchsiana, Whiteflower Farm











Dahlia Paso Doble, Whiteflower Farm












And just in case that isn't enough, also the Last Hurrah Collection of 5 tubers, from -- you guessed it -- Whiteflower Farms











I like Dahlias.

[Note to anyone concerned that this purchase of Dahlias might qualify as "obsessive gardening overspending," al la 2008. The answer to that is a resounding thank you to my parents, who sent me a lusciously large gift certificate to my favorite online nursery as a birthday gift. So ha!]

No comments: