Dahlias Waiting for Summer

The yard is half dug up in beds covered with mulch, the fence is gone while the fence design book is dogged-eared, and the seed and plant catalogs have started arriving. My enthusiasm is slowly infecting dear Victor, who is leading the charge for actually growing and maintaining seedlings, something I’ve never had the patience to do.

Some of my favorite flowers are burgundy dahlias. With as many great things that have come and gone from my life through Craigslist, it should have come as no surprise that I’d meet Janet, a grower and seller of Dahlias just south of Everett.

No time of year to get to admire a dahlia garden, I did, however, get to spend some time in her organized greenhouse as she patiently answered all of my questions. Her packets of dahlias are firm, clearly labeled, and came with a instructions that even I can follow. Her catalog of dahlias is at Fleurtiques.com. But you must order your dahlias soon as she is moving to the south.

Vic and I keep talking about bike riding, and to do so, we have to clean out the “moved in, throw it there” shed as boxes are blocking access to the bikes and winter lights. Though I’ve started thinking about new randonneuring challenges, it is the current garden season that is driving my interest in getting the shed sorted.