I love dahlias. I bought my first named varieties when I was 16, and because I lived in Yorkshire I had to keep them indoors until the beginning of June – the Dales got regular frosts even in late May back in the 1960s. The only place I could put them was on top of the storage heater just inside our front door. Going up and down the stairs became increasingly like entering a tropical jungle, so fast did those young dahlia plants grow.
I plant dahlias in any gaps I spot in my beds and borders – and there are always a few, where something has died out or been moved. I’d like to tell you that I plan their positioning carefully, but I don’t – they’re scattered like confetti, with just a thought or two as to whether their colour will shriek unpleasantly at their neighbour. I think you can be too controlling in a garden – colour clashes make you sit up and take notice. Unless they bring tears to your eyes, they give a garden vibrancy.
More on growing dahlias
Browse my list of five favourite dahlias, below.
Dahlia ‘Biddenham Strawberry’
Dahlia ‘Biddenham Strawberry’ is a small-flowered decorative dahlia. The rich pink petals are yellow at the base.
Height: 1.5m
Dahlia ‘Primrose Diane’
Dahlia ‘Primrose Diane’ is a small decorative dahlia with lovely, pale-yellow flowers.
H: 100cm
Dahlia ‘Bora Bora’
Dahlia ‘Bora Bora’ is a vividly colourful cactus dahlia, that produces its large flowers for months.
H: 100cm
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘David Howard’ is a miniature decorative dahlia with soft orange flowers and dark purple-bronze foliage. Copes well with lighter soil.
H: 100cm
Dahlia ‘Kenora Valentine’
Dahlia ‘Kenora Valentine’ is a giant decorative type with brilliant red flowers and pointed petals.
H: 1.5m
