Giverny in September: Dahliapalooza
In early September, Giverny has a lot of Dahlias in bloom. I mean a LOT of dahlias. I don’t know any of their names, because I don’t grow any Dahlias, but here are some nice ones we saw.
It’s not that I don’t like Dahlias. It’s just that north of zone 7 you have to store the tuberous roots inside for the winter, or that’s my understanding anyway.
Dahlia’s have a plump and happy look, so smooth and full, like they come from a place with absolutely no sharp edges.
Monet seemed to like Dahlias. His Dahlia paintings are not as famous as the iris or water lily ones, I guess, but they are beautiful all the same.
Perhaps I need to dedicate myself to Dahlia self-education for a while.
Some Dahlias seem a bit eccentric.
But they do get along well with other plants, like sunflowers.
Or roses.
I hope you’re not getting tired of pictures of Giverny, because I still have 321 to go. Just kidding! I think I’ll do one more about the garden, and then one on the Village of Giverny.
In the meantime, if anybody can ID these varieties, I’d be interested to know their names.
Do you grow Dahlias? And if so. do you bring them in for the winter?
gardeninacity 
we dig the tubers up to replant next year.
I guess you would have to. Springfield is still in zone 5, isn’t it?
I also dig up the tubers and store in a shallow basement. That works fine. They get bigger and bigger and they flower right until the frost comes.
I tried saving caladium tubers and they turned to mush. Is that a problem with dahlias also?
Haha! Definitely not getting bored, would happily look at 321 more photos! No idea what the dahlia varieties are, orange dahlia works for me! I do grow them and yes I do store them. I just dig the tuber up & pop it in a shoe box over winter. I have the following: ‘spiky pink’, ‘big bird yellow’ and ‘mini red’ 😉
Well, I won’t be putting up another 300+. There’s other stuff to write about.
I’m not a big fan of the big blousy dahlias but I do have some of the ‘Bishop’ strain. I leave them in the ground, but soil is very dry, so they even survived the winter when we had a couple of weeks with temperatures down to minus 9 or 10°C, I think if they’re wet they wouldn’t survive even zero!
The Bishop’s are singles, right? I like them too, especially Bishop of Llandaff.
I like the Bishops best too; fabulous dark foliage and daisy-like flowers that bees adore. Any genus that provides such fresh, beautiful blooms at the end of the growing season should have a place in the garden.
Then why aren’t there any in mine?
Ah yes, but I bet there are dahlias in next year’s garden! Smiles, M
Keeps the Monet garden info coming! Your post makes me think I should grow Dahlias (have only one that a friend grew from seed). I think they need more water than my garden usually has, but what a reward. My grandmother used to grow the huge dinner plate kind. susie
Hi Susie. I had the same reaction to all those dahlias. Not sure about their water needs.
They are one of my favorites. We’re lucky – they overwinter here. I love them but for some reason I don’t grow them. I think I’m not really sure how to use them. Keep the Monet pictures coming!
That is lucky. There are a few more pictures coming from Giverny, but lots and lots from the rest of the trip.
I also dig up the tubers and store them in the basement. It’s about 15 minutes of work total for some lovely blooms, especially in autumn. I do have one dahlia that I’ve dug up but bits of the tuber must still be in the ground because it comes up again every year. It’s really gorgeous!
How early do they usually start blooming? I need some more early-mid summer flowers.
I don’t put them in the ground until May, and the one-that-doesn’t-die starts sending up its foliage in late May if I remember correctly. It usually takes until about mid-late June for them to start blooming, depending on how mild (or not) our winter has been.
I live in Everett, Washington. I’ve grown dahlias for many years in this zone 6 and in zone 7 in Seattle. I think I tried digging them up as a new gardener but it took too much time and too much space to store them.
Dahlias are the most rewarding flower. What other annual or perennial rewards you with bouquets of flowers from mid-summer until frost?
There are thousands of dahlia varieties in many shapes and colors. Many look alike with different names.
I sometimes lose a few over a severe winter. I do try to mulch them with leaves, fern fronds or fir boughs over the winter.
I’ve had the best success with new dahlias by starting them under grow lights in March or April. I plant them out by mid-May. The plant gets a jump start and is less vulnerable to slugs and snails, though I still put Sluggo around each new plant.
Many dahlias can also do well in containers.
Thanks for posting the pictures of Giverny. It’s not quite like being there but good to see just the same.
I would definitely be growing these if I lived in a milder climate.
I love dahlias. They are a great fall bloomer and fabulous for a long season of longlasting flower arrangements. Our BRidge of Flowers in Shelburne also has lots of dahlias at this season.
I certainly like them better than chrysanthemums.
We grew them in Alaska and dug the tubers, not a lot of work. Plus the plant makes lots more tubers each year so you can have lots more if you want them. Here I leave them in the ground and if they’ve got good drainage, they’re just fine if not, they may rot. You could always grow them as annuals. Usually that’s the way it starts but then one year, you’ll have one that is so cool that you want to make sure you have just that variety next year so you’ll dig the tubers. Once you see how easy it was you’ll decide to dig another and another until your basement/garage/crawl space/ any cool dry dark place is filled with tubers.
Growing them as annuals is probably what I would do if I decide to grow them. But as you say, that could be just the thin edge of the wedge.
That dahlia with sunflower shot is stupendous!!!
Thanks (on behalf of Judy), I really like it too.
Like the other comments from the Puget Sound region I also grow them in the ground, pots and raised beds and rarely dig them up, except to divide a large clump or share the tubers. I mulch them with leaves and sometimes cover with green house plastic or homemade cold frames, especially if I’m worried about excessive wet. I like the more average sizes: the recurved, cactus and single smaller varieties, rather than the “dinner plate” giants. I always look forward in the dead of winter to get the Swan Island Dahlia catalog.
I think I would also like the single flowers best. Here in zone 5 I guess I would have to either bring them inside or just plant them as annuals.
Never tire of your pics, Jason! I like Dahlias too but not the overbred ones. There are actually some botanical Dahlias which are much under-used, I think so anyway. As for tubers: storage can be a bit tricky as they often dry out or rot so I usually buy new ones. Lovely cut flowers too.
Hi Annette. I would be interested in the botanical Dahlias – sounds comparable to species tulips in relation to the hybrids.
Jason, I love this garden and dahlias. Especially I liked the white and yellow ones, it seem they like hot weather.
Hi Nadezda. I think I like the red and purple best.
I really like those white ones. I never dig mine up [far too lazy] but they always seem to grow anyway.xxxx
That’s great that they come back without bringing inside for the winter.
I’ve grown dahlias for several people and overwintering them isn’t a big deal. I used to just store them in boxes of slightly damp peat moss in the corner of a cool cellar. If they had a cellar. If not it got to be difficult.
Well, I do have a basement, though it’s heated, so I don’t know if that would work.
They need to be kept at about 40-45 degrees-basically in a cold room or root cellar.Some people even store them in refrigerators.
I have always been torn as to whether I would like to see Giverny in late summer of earlier in spring when the irises are in flower. After seeing your pictures I am reminded just how splendid it looks when the dahlias are in flower. I have always loved the allee with the nasturtiums that you showed in the last post. I, for one, am not sick of seeing pictures of this amazing garden!
We were there before the irises, but the tulips and daffodils were in bloom. It was beautiful and I swore I would come back in a later season. Now my goal is to go when the iris and wisteria are blooming.
I grow them and dig them…. for now. Every couple years there’s a tipping point and I get sick of the work. They are easier to overwinter than caladiums (I think) but even easier to buy new in the spring. Frank
Hi Frank. I tried to overwinter caladium bulbs and the result was caladium mush. This has discouraged me in terms of dahlias.
I like Dahlia and grow them some years, but digging them in Fall is not what I do anymore. The photo in the field is my favorite, I guess it is a bed, but I like how it looks like a field of flowers.
Wait, the the plural of Dahlia is Dahlia? I agree about that picture, it does consist of beds but the paths between are so narrow and the growth so lush that it looks like a single field.
No, I’m not getting tired at all. I’m loving the tour because I’ve only been there in the Summer. So this is showing me a totally different perspective. My favorites are the white dahlias.
Good!
They are gorgeous. There must be hundreds and hundreds of different ones. I have tried growing them, but the snails found them extremely tasty and only one survived to flower. They have to be dug up here too, but that doesn’t seem to stop many people growing them. I love that combination in your second photo with the orange dahlia and blue… nepeta?
I’m enjoying your pictures – I never get tired of pictures of gardens/plants, and Giverny looks so lovely!
Don’t think it is nepeta, I thought it was lavender but maybe it is salvia.
I love dahlias but don’t grow them. Definitely plenty of delightful flower types and colours!
I try to grow dahlias but hard in my climate…I would love to see all those growing together.
I’m not sure if you are in a colder or warmer zone than I am. Are you in zone 4 or 5 (like me)?