Purple wellies, tiny steps - Muddy madness!

[SueA]

Hope you got some sleep Moonlight! Your plan looks really good, it will look wonderful 'in the flesh'. Not sure your 'Dad' will like being planted in one of your squares - is that space for something he is providing?

[Moonlight]

Roofy I think you are right but just one more thing to faff about with but I think you are right.

[Moonlight]

Feb 28, 2016 8:28:23 GMT SueA said:

Hope you got some sleep Moonlight ! Your plan looks really good, it will look wonderful 'in the flesh'. Not sure your 'Dad' will like being planted in one of your squares - is that space for something he is providing?

Interestingly enough HH didn't like view looking down towards the dahlias. For a long time during the season he thought that it was too dark which is a bit of a problem considering the fact that I really like the deep purples and reds:




My total favourite new variety for 2015 was Weston Buccaneer.


Even Fairy's Hillcrest Hannah didn't balance off the darker ones because there were more dark ones to the side on the corner plot.

It didn't help the mutant rain downpours that we had totally massacred my lilac (still purple) and white Giant Sir Alf Ramseys. Had they fully bloomed then they would have looked spectacular (in my opinion) on the left of the shed - they are the ones with the yellow open centres with the hope of enticing those bees. Sir Alf isn't a great seed parent provider* in my Dad's experience so I am very proud to collect two seeds but then its dna may well have been mixed with others on the menu. Oppersite there is a large pom called Nuland's Josephine, of my seedlings last year Nuland's Josephine was an obvious pollen parent and did collect a lot of seed from them that I haven't sown but I didn't like almost all of those seedlings so when that started to bloom I removed them. I know that for me that sounds very mean but I didn't want that to happen with seedlings 2015. My Dad on the other hand has been very happy with his Nuland's Josephine seedlings.

So I am faced with the challenge of having lots of dark dahlias that don't fade (a lot) in full sunshine with contrasting bright colours and other than Eastwood Moonlight and the girls' Hillcrest Hannah and Amber Festival and another warm yellow with peachy glow about it Blighton Softer Gleam I don't want to grow the yellows and the whites if at all possible.

Even stunning dahlias like Blyton Golden Girl I've had to pass on to my Dad because they do better for him than me (+plus I am more of a purple person - not that you would tell from my posts or anything).

The space where it says 'Dad' is where I normally (well the last couple of years) grow a dahlia called Marston George. It is a lovely deep dark, dahlia but (currently) I've moved round the Corner with the other Decorative dahlias because I am hoping to add that dna to the Bees pollen menu.

My Dad has got some lovely deep coloured ball dahlia seedlings and he knows the ones that I really like. I am going to ask him to pick to pick the one that has the best traditional ball attributes that I liked and that's what I want to grow there (at the moment).

*My understanding of giants (+ to some extent large) is that they are difficult to get seed from. I think from memory I only had about 4 Kenora Valentine in 2014 and 2015 I found 1 which I believe is dual classification large or giant. I've got a funny feeling that Fairy might have knocked one off of the table (which was never found ) and I have also collected 28 Kenora Challenger seeds which is a large. It is certainly possible to get quality seed from giants, my Dad's friend Peter Cleaver proved it when he raised Sir Alf Ramsey itself.

Anyway I'm waffling. Sorry.

[daisy]

Feb 29, 2016 10:18:11 GMT Moonlight said:

Feb 28, 2016 8:28:23 GMT SueA said:

Hope you got some sleep Moonlight ! Your plan looks really good, it will look wonderful 'in the flesh'. Not sure your 'Dad' will like being planted in one of your squares - is that space for something he is providing?

Interestingly enough HH didn't like view looking down towards the dahlias. For a long time during the season he thought that it was too dark which is a bit of a problem considering the fact that I really like the deep purples and reds:




My total favourite new variety for 2015 was Weston Buccaneer.


Even Fairy's Hillcrest Hannah didn't balance off the darker ones because there were more dark ones to the side on the corner plot.

It didn't help the mutant rain downpours that we had totally massacred my lilac (still purple) and white Giant Sir Alf Ramseys. Had they fully bloomed then they would have looked spectacular (in my opinion) on the left of the shed - they are the ones with the yellow open centres with the hope of enticing those bees. Sir Alf isn't a great seed parent provider* in my Dad's experience so I am very proud to collect two seeds but then its dna may well have been mixed with others on the menu. Oppersite there is a large pom called Nuland's Josephine, of my seedlings last year Nuland's Josephine was an obvious pollen parent and did collect a lot of seed from them that I haven't sown but I didn't like almost all of those seedlings so when that started to bloom I removed them. I know that for me that sounds very mean but I didn't want that to happen with seedlings 2015. My Dad on the other hand has been very happy with his Nuland's Josephine seedlings.

So I am faced with the challenge of having lots of dark dahlias that don't fade (a lot) in full sunshine with contrasting bright colours and other than Eastwood Moonlight and the girls' Hillcrest Hannah and Amber Festival and another warm yellow with peachy glow about it Blighton Softer Gleam I don't want to grow the yellows and the whites if at all possible.

Even stunning dahlias like Blyton Golden Girl I've had to pass on to my Dad because they do better for him than me (+plus I am more of a purple person - not that you would tell from my posts or anything).

The space where it says 'Dad' is where I normally (well the last couple of years) grow a dahlia called Marston George. It is a lovely deep dark, dahlia but (currently) I've moved round the Corner with the other Decorative dahlias because I am hoping to add that dna to the Bees pollen menu.

My Dad has got some lovely deep coloured ball dahlia seedlings and he knows the ones that I really like. I am going to ask him to pick to pick the one that has the best traditional ball attributes that I liked and that's what I want to grow there (at the moment).

*My understanding of giants (+ to some extent large) is that they are difficult to get seed from. I think from memory I only had about 4 Kenora Valentine in 2014 and 2015 I found 1 which I believe is dual classification large or giant. I've got a funny feeling that Fairy might have knocked one off of the table (which was never found ) and I have also collected 28 Kenora Challenger seeds which is a large. It is certainly possible to get quality seed from giants, my Dad's friend Peter Cleaver proved it when he raised Sir Alf Ramsey itself.

Anyway I'm waffling. Sorry.

Moonlight really like the cactus in the foreground of the top picture and the purple one above - both very nice :-))

[roofgardener]

Wow.. what a blaze of colour and texture.

I also didn't realise they grew so TALL !

Is there actually still a path down to the Cabin, Moonlight ?

Or is it like one of those mountain cabins, but in reverse ? E.g. it gets cut off in Summer, instead of in Winter ?

[SueA]

Your Weston Buccaneer dahlias do look gorgeous Moonlight, I don't really think the views look too dark in the photos, there seems to be a lovely tapestry of colour.

[grindle]

I agree with SueA I'd love that view in my garden in the summer

[Moonlight]

Thank You daisy SueA , grindle and Roofy I like as well

Feb 29, 2016 18:53:53 GMT roofgardener said:

Wow.. what a blaze of colour and texture.

I also didn't realise they grew so TALL !

Is there actually still a path down to the Cabin, Moonlight ?

Or is it like one of those mountain cabins, but in reverse ? E.g. it gets cut off in Summer, instead of in Winter ?

Roofy - yes the path to the cabin becomes more and more like a jungle. Doesn't make it easy when I am trying to get between the rows of dahlias to cut them for show and then to stagger back up the path. Often I send Pirate in because she is still small enough to crouch below the over hanging dahlias. One of the reasons some of my dahlias grow up so high is because I have to plant them quite close to fit them in. I also still don't what I am doing with the side shoots and laterals. What's a laterals? See the link

[Moonlight]

Anyway more tomorrow - going to head off to bed, struggling to stay awake. Going to head up the 'Wooden hill' My alarm goes off at 5.30 on work morning.

Night All

[Moonlight]

All I wanted was to have a quick shower, print out the photos on my plan so that I could catch a bus to go and see me Dad and get a progress report. Made the mistake of looking for the photos of them because I want the numbers but can I find them? No!

So I have been trawling through past posts re. seedlings. Looking at lots of photos of Tel 's 2015 seedlings... Have avoided tears this time.

Anyway still haven't found the photos - so still haven't got the number names.

Frustrating. Thursdays is the day that I have the most time and the extra minutes are long gone.

Hay Hoe.
If I get to pop round my Dad's then it is meant to be and if I don't then it wasn't.

[Moonlight]

This one will do. Not the best photo but it'll do.

Aug 5, 2015 22:06:06 GMT Moonlight said:

Sorting out Dad's photos seems to be taking ages, partly I think because I don't know where I want them to end up. (i.e. which thread)

Dad looking at his 2014 number 1 seedling.

---

Dad's 2014 - number 4 seedling.

---

More to follow...
I have close ups but I might put them in the seedlings / bloom thread.

In the original post there was another seedling (2013 number 11) which has now (I believe) been dropped because it wasn't good enough.
p.s. Feeling much more chirpy, going put the kettle on, make a coffee, finish labelling the plan, print it out and then go from there.
p.p.s. Playing Bugsy Malone - you can't be depressed when you've got a bit of Bugsy Malone on. "You give a lill' love and it all comes back to you..."

[Moonlight]

Found it in the Blooms thread

2014 number 1

Aug 15, 2015 14:16:15 GMT Moonlight said:

This is one of my Dad's.

The previous photo with my Dad is a good one because you can see that it is not as tall as the yellow one. So this is the dahlia on the plan which replaces Peach Delight. I really like it but the rain ruined it last year and I didn't get a chance to show it. Maybe I'll have more luck with 2014 number 1.

Hopefully the bees will like it to.

[Moonlight]

A Couple of Eastwood Bright Spark.

Aug 26, 2015 8:27:20 GMT Moonlight said:

I love this photo

I've loved this dahlia ever since I first saw it. It's super special to me because it is the first dahlia for my Dad to name for (a lot of) years. I love the colour contrast together those yellow tips. Very distinctive.

[Moonlight]

So there you my Medium Semi Cactus:


Eastwood Moonlight wasn't left out either.
I'm a very lucky woman.

[Moonlight]

My Sister came round earlier. So for obvious reasons I didn't finish my posts. We don't see enough of each other and when the girls are with us it is normally busy a generator of ultra excited Nieces.

My Sister had to go home and I had to go collect girls from club and then drop Pirate off the next thing and then walked home with Fairy. We were busy in the short time before Daddy came home. He's not noticed what we did - so I won't divulge details. Collect Pirate - dropped off repeat prescription - quick dinner - then HH went and dropped off Fairy. I was 'encouraging' Pirate to get to bed before Fairy returned. She just getting ready to get into bed when she remarked that her carpet kept getting wet...

Abridged

She has a leaking radiator.

Very bad timing both literally and financially. Moved Pirate into Fairy's room. Both girls in varying degrees of tears / sobbing. Seeing your loved possetions soaked never going to be a happy moment.

HH was on his hands and (soaking) knees switching off the valves of the radiator. Engineer booked for Monday morning.

By the time we'd got the girls in bed we were all shattered. Watched a bit of tv and then fell absolutely sound-O. Woke up (HH being sensible had gone to bed) wide awake - hence able to finish off my posts.

Night All not sleepy but at least I'm going to bed.