I adore dahlias. I don’t know if I have a favorite flower, but dahlias are up there. They’ve got elements of both sophistication and playfulness, with a touch of wildflower.
My aunt and uncle are insane gardeners. Especially my uncle. He is a whirlwind of outdoor productivity. They grew a field full of magnificent dahlias for my wedding. When I told the florist (whom I used to work for) that they had plans to grow flowers for me, he was skeptical. He said he would have a back up plan. He’s seen other brides who said they would grow their own flowers, and it is almost always a disaster. I knew it wouldn’t be.
Photo by Jessica Bush
And it wasn’t. Check out our amazing cake flowers, all from my aunt and uncle’s dahlia garden!
Photo by Jessica Bush
See that fiery orange one in the top left of my bouquet? The morning of the wedding, my mom dropped off some extra dahlias at the florist, and he worked this little fireball into the bouquet, his wedding gift to me.
So, this year, the first year I’ve been married with access to dirt in which to plant things, I wanted dahlias.
This afternoon I planted eight bulbs all through our beds, which are already occupied with other stuff planted by the previous tenants. Since they’re nothing to look at yet, just lumps of dirt, here’s a picture of a bulb I planted in a container on the balcony a few weeks ago.
It’s a stand-in for future dahlia sprouts, a representation of what I hope is to come.
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