My (Almost) Autumn Garden

“Nature bestows her own, richest giftsAnd, with lavish hands, she works in shifts…”~Gertrude Tooley Buckingham

Dahlia growers know that autumn is a time of great abundance in the garden. While other gardens are winding down, the dahlia garden is gearing up. But it’s not just dahlias as you’ll soon see.

The dahlia garden in . . . → Read More: My (Almost) Autumn Garden

Chicagoland Dahlia Sales

Our two Chicagoland Dahlia clubs will be having their sales soon:

Central States Dahlia Society

May 4 & 5, 2019 Saturday and Sunday 10 AM to 4 PM Dahlia Sale Chicago Botanic Garden 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL May 18, 2019 Saturday 10 AM to 3 PM Garden Plants and Dahlia Sale Friendship Park . . . → Read More: Chicagoland Dahlia Sales

Where To Buy Dahlia Tubers

Yes, I know its February, and in Chicagoland that means snow and it means cold. It also means that the 2019 dahlia season begins! The Central State Dahlia Society recently had a tuber auction. We bought some and Mike will be down in the basement next week planting those and the tubers we stored over . . . → Read More: Where To Buy Dahlia Tubers

Come See Our Dahlias on September 10th

Its beginning to look a lot like dahlias! We’ve inviting YOU to come see them on Saturday, September 10th, from 1 PM to 4 PM. Mike and I are at 331 Forest View in Elk Grove Village, IL.

If you happen to have clothes that would work well for scarecrows, we’ll be collecting them for . . . → Read More: Come See Our Dahlias on September 10th

So You Want To Be A Flower Farmer

Have you got what it takes to be a serious flower farmer? Not a gardener, but an actual ‘I do this for a living’ kind of person. Liz Cardella does. Liz is pretty much a one-woman business when it comes to Collie Flower Farm in Woodstock, IL.

What has Liz got that perhaps you don’t?

. . . → Read More: So You Want To Be A Flower Farmer

In the ‘Oops’ Category

It seemed like such a simple task. A rainy day. A little painting in the basement before work. Just a few signs and a small fence. The operative word here is ‘seemed’, because I have once again proved that everyone needs an editor. Now keep in mind that I do Instructional Design for a living, . . . → Read More: In the ‘Oops’ Category

53 Pots of Dahlias and Counting

See that smile on Mike’s face? That is what happens when his dahlia tubers make it through the winter and he can start propagating. 53 pots of dahlias planted last week and still counting. The plan is for each of those to send up sprouts, and for each sprout to become a plant. Most of . . . → Read More: 53 Pots of Dahlias and Counting

Bella! Our Dahlias are Bella!

Bella! That was Paula’s exuberant description of our dahlias. Paula is visiting from Italy. Fortunately, she is visiting a neighbor, not us, as we don’t speak Italian. But I knew it was good when she opened her arms wide in our dahlia garden and said ‘Bella’. Again and again ‘Bella’. And I knew it . . . → Read More: Bella! Our Dahlias are Bella!

Autumn Greetings From Me and My New Friends

This is the time of year I always make new friends. Our garden club helped folks make 65 new friends last week, and I personally made 2. Here they are, happily greeting passers-by on this (dare I say it) first day of autumn.

Kinda scary isn’t it? Autumn – already. And just when I almost . . . → Read More: Autumn Greetings From Me and My New Friends

The Dahlia Family Garden Party

Invite by GlueMeetsPaper on Pinterest

We had quite the garden party this year, with over a hundred notable guests. They were all from the same family, one with quite a bit of inbreeding I must admit. Did I mention they were all dahlias? 76 varieties were invited, with 113 plants in attendance.

It . . . → Read More: The Dahlia Family Garden Party