Great advice pirl!!

@Cantillon, I have a feeling your wife will love the new Cherry Trees, I was convinced that mine was ornimental and then last year found a cherry, then I found out that the one I have does not produce cherries till the tree is five years old, then I found out that the birds will eat them and leave presents all over your car.

Oh, is this the Dahlias Forum? ...My bad.

Love your potting mix, glad you found what works for you and your dahlias are thriving. Do not be intimidated by the knowledge here, just read and observe for a while, join in when you feel comfortable.

As for your garden, good that you got everything planted, at lease it is growing and you can rearrange some stuff later. That's what I am doing right now, well when ever I can get out. It has been cold and I am just getting over a sinus infection. But I get out when I can and am determined to accomplish one thing every day. that is going to be my new years resolution, I just started early that's all. LOL.

Hi virginiarose

I get some good advice about planning before planting from close family members. However I think because my work is pretty structured and I can't make a lot of mistakes, that I compensate by letting the garden evolve organically. The plants and I enjoy the chaos though as we potter about.

All the best.

..sounds good.

Accomplishing just one thing in the garden daily is a wonderful goal. At least you'll have something crossed off your list daily.

I went out to do just one thing yesterday - plant 5 dozen daffodils that I had dug up in spring. Got that done because I had a vacancy from removing Lily of the Valley. Then I went on to spread poppy seeds, bring out saved cardboard to get it wet so I could lay it in one long path and against the rear post and rail fence to put a halt to my neighbor's flying weed seeds, then cleaned out one small part of the garage.

For once I didn't go hunting for more dahlias.

The new deer fencing around The Park (our old vegetable garden) starts Monday morning at 8 AM.

Hi pirl,

It's great that you can get out there every day, like Harry Chapin said, there's good tired where you did the things you wanted to do, it's a different kind of tired, one that you can enjoy. I can't wait to get back to my garden, only 4,000 miles away.

Peter, 4000 miles?

@pirl, it's funny how that works out! I want to see your new fence!

Wow! Taking a walk to the garden is a major undertaking when it's 4,000 miles away!

Susan - Me, too!

Just saying 'Hi' so my thread watcher will watch....

I need to watch and take notes!

Cantillon said:Here is Sir Alf Ramsay,

I have asked that it be added to the database. It doesn't look like the prize winning dahlias that Ken has above in little wisley, and he must be right.

My Alf was not that big either...

Just curious - did you disbud? I seldom do it but believe it's the way to get the largest blooms.

Quite a few dahlias don't look like the photos posted online so it makes the database much more important for those considering buying any dahlia. I'd also urge all of us to add our own photos.

That's a great idea!!

pirl said:Just curious - did you disbud? I seldom do it but believe it's the way to get the largest blooms.

No, I do not normally disbud. If you are showing Dahlias, there are all sorts of methods to obtain big blooms. I just grow dahlias in the garden and occasionally cut them for a bouquet. No desire to show them:)

Same here.

I enjoy bringing new crosses on from seed, using singles/misc. as a base. In the second or third year I put the best, identical plants beside each other to get a good show. Friends in various dahlia society encourage you to "show" but when I go to their "gardens" they have maybe twenty or forty of one variety in a bed that they disbud, bring on/to get their timings right for a show.

Their gardens consist of maybe 1,000 dahlias, but only twenty or thirty different plants. Oftentimes the beds of dahlias are protected under large opensided polytunnels, or Perspex roofs and the "gardens" are an eyesore, more akin to junkyards. I don't say this of course, but I am not very interested in their gardens. They are very knowledgeable and open with advice and guidance though.

They do sometimes have the very best stock tubers you can get, and at the end of the season the growers that are not florists are happy to gift them to anybody that wants them. It is a great way to get dahlias. Unfortunately very few singles are grown or shown so again , of not much interest to me.

Hi Frank,

I thought you had a photo of some itoh peony fans, would you know a quality supplier and any that you particularly like.

Kind regards,

Peter

I thought you had a photo of some itoh peony fans, would you know a quality supplier and any that you particularly like.

Peter, I have two peony suppliers that are on the top of my list:

http://www.swensongardens.com/...

http://peonyparadise.com/itohp...

I have ordered from both. They are high quality and reasonably priced.

Many thanks Frank,
I am going to change out my red bed, and plant peonies and hardy orchids there with an oriental theme, pinus mugo, small acers etc

Been planning it in my head and now getting the plan together in a note book. Where I am going to get the time from I don't know yet.

Regards

peter, there are many dwarf conifers that might be good for your red bed.

This year I planted a dwarf oriental arborvitae that I think i am going to like…

I planted it in my red bed:)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5...

Happy Solstice everyone!
The sun has begun its return to us.
With apologies to our friends from the Southern Hemisphere - In only 6 months will begin its return to you again.