ANOTHER HOT ONE - TRIAL AND ERROR AHEAD!

We are very warm here in North Central Washington already. I looked at my dashboard thermometer today and it said 89, which was not quite as high as my husband saw when he was driving around town today - 95. In any event, the temps could somewhat explain how much I was sweating when I was finishing the planting in one of my home dahlia beds today! I've moved my beds around this year, in an effort to better achieve the balance of sunlight and heat necessary to grow great dahlias. One of our NCW Dahlia Society members has his dahlia planted along the western boundary of his yard, where he also has a tall fence, which provides afternoon shade. His flowers did pretty well last year, in spite of the record setting temps in 2014, so I think it is time to take a page out of his book. I only have around 30 plants in three 4'x4' beds, but they are some of my favorite varieties, including some new introductions from some of my Snohomish County friends. So far, the ones I planted a couple weeks ago seem to be doing very well when compared with the beds in my tradition spot, just below our deck with a full-out western exposure. I have also built a 4'x4' bed and a 4'x8' bed on the northern edge of the yard, which I haven't planted yet. I will probably still plant it, probably with some of my second and third year seedlings. It will be interesting to see the variance in the blooms and foliage come August. With temps like this in May, I can only imagine what will happen in the next few months. I've found that dahlia growing is a series of experiments, and if you aren't curious enough to keep tweaking what you've learned, you may get discouraged and give up - I hope you don't. I've learned so much more from my failures than from my successes, and I continue to learn so much from others who share.......Enjoy the journey!

An Autumn Lullaby

AN AUTUMN LULLABY

            As I waited for the light to change on the corner of 19^th and Sunset Highway, I couldn’t help but be reminded that harvest is upon us. Tractor-trailer rigs laden with square boxes filled with Honeycrisp, Gala, Grannies, Jonagold, Ambrosias, Auroras, Goldens and Reds lumber past, destined for packing sheds and ultimately, markets throughout Washington, the US, and other parts of the world. This is the time of year that so many of us spend the rest of the year preparing for – we are now rewarded for our careful and precise husbandry that we’ve applied in each of our growing venues.

            As a dahlia grower, this is my favorite time for a number of reasons. First of all, it marks our annual dahlia show, which this year was filled with over 1000 blooms of every size, color and description. The sheer brilliance and grace of this gathering of horticultural angels served to inspire and touch the hearts of people as only miracles can - you could almost cut the endorphins with a knife. Secondly, it is during late September and early October that many of us can afford to be generous with our cut flowers. There is no longer a need to save the best for the fairs or dahlia shows across the state. The crisp mornings, warm afternoons and cool evenings and overnights produce some of the best blooms of the season. You might just see dahlia growers walking around with arms full of bouquets, gifting family, friends and neighbors. Or maybe you’ve seen the vases full of dahlias on front counters at offices, shops and other public places around town. As so many of you have discovered, giving dahlias away is just plain fun – I can highly recommend it!

            There is an irony for dahlia growers, in that autumn represents both an ending and a beginning. With or without the killing frost, you will find us cutting down our plants as we say “goodbye” to the gardens and yards filled with the luscious nobility represented in our dahlias. However, with the digging of the tubers clumps and the collecting of seed pods, we officially say “hello” to the future that resides in the possibilities of next year’s crop. What was planted as a single tuber in the spring is now a clump of 4-12 or more. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – it is really like Christmas for us, and the bountiful yield is one of the things that we look forward to. Rather than dreading the digging, lifting, cleaning, cutting and dividing, we welcome the process that allows us to tuck these babies into their winter beds of pine-shavings and crawlspaces.

            A huge “thank you” goes out to our NCW community for all the support, gratitude and encouragement that we receive so frequently – whether in our demonstration garden on Emerson Street, the dahlia forms garden at Pybus, the teaching garden at 5^th and Western, or in our home gardens. The interest in dahlias has grown tremendously in the past few years, as evidenced by the presence of dahlias in so many yards across the valley, and because of that, NCW Dahlia Society will be hosting a Pybus University session called “Putting Your Dahlias to Bed.”  Scheduled for November 4, at 7:00 pm at Pybus Public Market, this class will provide hands-on experience with dividing and storing dahlia tubers. You can pre-register at www.pybuspublicmarket.org/sign-up/pybus-university.

FROM DAHLIAS TO DONUTS

The phrase, 'Dollars to donuts' is a pseudo-betting term, which indicates short odds - in other words, something is a certainty to win.  I spent last weekend on the beautiful Kitsap Peninsula, enjoying all the things that a dahlia show weekend can bring. On Saturday morning, I was greeted warmly upon arriving at he Kitsap County Pavilion - not just by the gorgeous dahlias and the old dahlia friends, but also by DONUTS. If there is one thing other than dahlia-culture that I have learned through my involvement, it is that every dahlia event is accompanied by donuts. These deep-fried, guilt-ridden and usually forbidden sweet treats show up at  Federation of NW Dahlia Growers (FNWDG) activities - including board meetings, workshops, local club shows, and even at the trial gardens.  My conclusion is that, if you show up to participate at any FNWDG event, you are certain to find maple bars, bear claws, glazed, chocolate and sprinkled, and sometimes even buttermilk and crullers.

Donuts are only one of the certainties you encounter during show season. During my visit to the Kitsap peninsula, I was sure that I would be greeted warmly with hugs and smiles; that I would have a chance to bend the ear of some of the best growers and hybridizers in the country; that I would have many opportunities to discuss issues local challenges (heat, wind, drought) to successful dahlia-growing. I knew I would spend some time at the Tacoma Trial Gardens, the dahlia show, and Wendy and Drew Brant's home for the Saturday night barbecue. What I didn't realize was that I would have an opportunity to visit and photograph two other gardens - the Kitsap County Dahlia Society's garden at the Port Gamble Post Office, and the gardens of Eric and Janet Anderson, just a few miles from the Silverdale Fairgrounds. Although record-setting heat has affected dahlia growth all over the state, the flowers I saw in those gardens were sensational. The commitment and enthusiasm of the growers I spent time with last weekend was exactly what I needed to renew my own energy and focus on my own dahlias. I will admit that the three weeks of temperatures in excess of 100 degrees fahrenheit had caused me a high level of anxiety and discouragement, and I needed a boost to get back on track. Kind of like having a donut when you feel your energy flagging........

 Kelsey Annie Joy  (with two friends) at Eric Anderson's Garden 

A shot of the garden at the Port Gamble Post Office

THE BEST LAID PLANS......

I thought I'd planned out my Dahlia Forms Garden at Pybus Public Market pretty well. I tried to dot all my "i's" and cross all my "t's", so that things would go really well.....but.....the result? Not so much......

In designing and planting this garden, I selected 3-6 varieties from each of the 20 different dahlia forms, in order to teach people about the diversity of type in the dahlia family. My proposal to plant this garden on the Pybus property was considered and accepted by the Pybus team, and I went to work. First, I selected a spot, with the advice and guidance of those familiar with the master landscaping plan. The northeast corner of the market property, adjacent to the back parking lot, was chosen as the ideal spot - having good sun exposure, great drainage, good visibility for Market visitors, and nothing else planned for that area. I hired people to till the spot, and then I brought in topsoil/compost mix, as well as additional compost and soil building materials. I organized the layout of the space, and eventually planted about 118 tubers/plants in mid-April.

I watched as my garden grew, and I had a little bit of concern about the most northern part of the bed getting enough water. This was dealt with by increasing the automatic watering times, and by frequent hand watering that I did 3-4 times a week. I was thrilled and excited to watch my plants come up, and I have tended this little space with much anticipation. However, a few weeks into the growing season, I thought I started noticing some irregular foliage growth, a growth pattern that looked eerily familiar to me, and which I tried not to believe was happening. At some point during this time, I vaguely rememberd that I had seen one of those little flags that the lawn care companies put on your property when they treat your yard, but it wasn't exactly in the spot where I had the garden. So I kind of forgot about it. Denial worked for a while, until I finally couldn't ignore the nubby buds, the curled and leathery leaves, the distorted flowers that appeared on Kathy's Choice and Badger Twinkle - I finally had to admit that most of the plants in the garden were suffering from "herbicide carryover." Dahlias are particularly vulnerable to this condition. My first experience with it had been during the 2012 growing season, when I and my friend Mike used some manure from a local farmer to help enrich our soil. We didn't know that it contained remainders and residues of herbicides that had likely been used to kill grasses along the country highway where it originated. Our dahlias struggled mightily to grow out of it, but the result was a much reduced yield and lower quality blooms and plants for about half the season. Eventually, it seemed to be leached out of the soil by heavy watering and time, but it is not the kind of thing dahlia gardeners want to have to deal with.

I visited with several local garden/farm supply people yesterday, trying to brainstorm a solution for the problem, and they had a few ideas. After talking with them, I think I will try a combination of drenching/draining the soil and adding some compost tea that may help neutralize the soil through the growth of healthy microbes. The conditions don't seem as severe as they did in 2012, but there is no doubt that the early flower and foliage on my dahlias is anything but normal. The good news is that I only have this problem at Pybus, probably due to treatment of the area by herbicides, prior to the decision to plant the garden. I don't anticipate that it will happen again, if I continue to grow in that spot. Fortunately, it is early enough in the season that the chances of getting back to normal are pretty good - wish me luck!

 Leathery, thickened and curly foliage is characteristic of herbicide carryover.

Nubby deformed buds are also common symptoms.

LEGACY - THE GIFT OF OUR FATHERS

I have been writing an irregular column for the Wenatchee World,  and recently found myself really struggling to get the time to do it. The reasons are many, but mostly it was due to the 'busyness' of dahlia season - tuber work parties, tuber sales, garden preparation, planting, cleaning up the club garden, committee work for the ADS show and our local show - it seemed like there just wasn't the right combination of time and energy to get my column written. Maybe this was because I didn't really want to write about dahlia growing - I wanted to write about the concept of "legacy." In March of this year, I went to the Wenatchee Valley Chamber's annual banquet,  where  the third annual Legacy Award was presented to Kathy and Wilfred Woods. Wilf and his family are the founders, publishers, editors and managers of our local daily newspaper for over a hundred years. Besides the obvious legacy that one can create through the power of the press, Wilf and especially his wife Kathy, have been greatly influential in establishing infrastructures and opportunities for the performing arts in the Wenatchee Valley. Their work and their presence in our community cried out to be recognized with this very prestigious award. I have the greatest respect for Wilf and I truly love Kathy, who is one of the dearest people I have ever met.  Being there when they received this well-earned Legacy Award was a great honor for me.

This wasn't the first time that the concept of legacy had woven through my brain like an earworm - I really first started thinking about it in September of 2012, when I took my first walk through the developing Pybus Market site. Mike Walker was leading the tour through the building and he shared his dream and vision for Pybus. He and his wife JoAnn had been talking for some time about how best to express their gratitude and love for the Wenatchee Valley. Decades ago, they had relocated to Wenatchee to establish their businesses, and immediately knew that they were HOME. When the concept of establishing a permanent home for the Wenatchee Valley Farmer's Market as well as a business hub on the Columbia Riverfront gained momentum, the Walkers realized that they could make it happen by contributing the resources necessary to make the project happen.  Seeing this as a public/private enterprise, the Port of Chelan County and the City of Wenatchee had successfully advanced the conversation, but found that the project  but was still almost $3,000,000 short of reality.  The Walkers made a decision to make this financial contribution, and to take a hands-on approach in the development work.  They saw this as  the perfect avenue for them to leave a permanent gift to the community they loved. The Pybus Public Market would become their legacy.

Since that day almost two years ago, I have seen examples of legacy all around me. and have thought a lot about what I might leave for future generations. That line of inquiry led me directly to my father and his father before him. I couldn't help expanding their work and their passion to others who create beauty in their worlds, often in public spaces such as parks and businesses. As my workload at the gardens lightened, I was finally able to pull my thoughts together and get them down on paper. The column wasn't quite as I had imagined, but I finished it and sent it in. Today, Father's Day, it appeared in the Sunday edition,. As I read it, I was surprised to recognize it as a tribute to my father. He established a legacy that lives on in gardens and growers all over the state of Washington, and especially in North Central Washington. I realize that I am embracing his legacy every time I do the things he did in his gardens. I think he would be very happy to see that the column that accidentally became a Father's Day tribute has resulted from his labor of love throughout his lifetime. Thanks, Pop, and Happy Father's Day with all my love!!

WILL DRIVE FOR DAHLIAS - ALL IN A DAY'S WORK

In typical fashion, true to the generous character of the flower itself, the Snohomish County Dahlia Society has once again taken us under their wing. Following their own tuber sales earlier this month, they found themselves with over 400 leftover dahlia tubers. Just as they did last year, they offered them to our club to add to our tuber sale inventory. Since we have two more sale dates, we have a great opportunity to find new homes for these outstanding babies. I was happy to drive over to beautiful Snohomish County to pick them up from Ken Greenway, owner of Accent Dahlias, in Machias. Besides picking up the SnoHoCo donation, I also had the opportunity to see Ken's garden and get some idea of the sheer volume of dahlias he deals with. He usually grows about 5000 plants, representing new AC seedlings, as well as established varieties of his and other hybridizers. He just started planting yesterday, with hours (days?) of work ahead of him. After I left Ken's, I decided to drive to Everett to drop off a tuber order that I received from one of my Facebook friends. She lives in Tennesee, so I'd mailed her tubers to her a couple weeks ago, and she wanted to buy a few for her daughter. I had the flat-rate box all packed with tubers, and intended to stop at a post office to mail it, but since I was there, and I had the time, I entered the address in my Google maps app on my smartphone, and drove on over there. After that, I still had a little time before I was supposed to meet with Bernie Wilson in Snohomish, so I took the opportunity to stop at Steuber's, a favorite stop for Snohomish County growers. My little heart just went pitter-pat when I saw the large bags of earthworm castings that could be had for only $9.95 a bag! Lucky me - I bought two! I'm hoping that if I add these to the dirt that I plant in at the Tony DeRooy Memorial Garden on Emerson Street, the green earthworms that I have there every season will give into the peer pressure and change their color to a healthy pink - I'll keep you posted on that! I also was able to get some very cool 3-inch peat pots to use for my seedlings, some wire ties for tying up, and some nylon trellis stuff that I am going to experiment with, in place of stakes. Training young plants through the squares of the trellis can help the plants to remain straight as they grow up.

By noon, I was heading for Bernie's place in Snohomish. Lakeview Gardens are always an inspiration for me, and Bernie is always a source of information and ideas. He has been a true mentor to me for many years, and this year is not different. He shared some pretty nice cuttings and a couple tubers with me - some things I've never grown before, or have been unable to find. We also talked about seedlings, since I am asking him to grow a few of mine this year. It will be interesting to see if the seedlings I developed in NCW will grow the same in Snohomish County. He has three or four of mine, and also three that came from Dad. The support we get as a club, and that I get, as an individual, is so very important to my journey on the dahlia-road - I find that words fail to express the gratitude I feel to those who continue to lift us up in this way.

Bernie Wilson at Pybus Public Market, judging with Mike Alexander 

and NCWDS clerk Vic Bosche'

I ended my day with coffee in Redmond, with my dear dahlia-sister, Rosemary Freeman. There is nothing like spending time with strong, smart people like Rosemary, but the best part is just spending time with a friend who understands and shares my passion. We talked about all kinds of things, and the time for me to leave came much too soon. I hit the road about 4:30, heading east through Woodinville, Duvall and Monroe. You'd think that after a lifetime in Washington state, that I would get to the point where I take the natual beauty around us for granted - but the views never fail to take my breath away. A warm clear afternoon revealed The Mountain, highly visible on the southern horizon as I neared Monroe. No matter what direction I was heading, I saw mountains - the Olympics to the west, the Cascades to the east, and lush green forests of both evergreen and broadleaf trees, as well as rich river valleys where the Holstein dairy cows contentedly graze. They say that success is not getting to where you are going, but rather, the quality of the journey. The truth of this statement was evident in my 12 hours on the road yesterday - I returned home refreshed with my spirit refilled. I'm so grateful to SnoHoCo, Bernie and Rosemary for all they have done to encourage our efforts - Driving for Dahlias is a great way to spend a spring day!

IS IT TIME? ARE WE THERE YET?

Welcome to a new dahlia season - regular blogging begins today!!

 Bench starting a lot of my tubers this year

I have a new light table this year, a legacy from our dear friend Ray Brain, 

who passed away at the close of last year's dahlia season.

The fact that I haven't written my blog since November caused me a bit of difficulty this morning when I tried to post this morning. Like the tubers in my crawlspace, you might conclude that I have also been lying dormant for the past 6 months - so NOT true! During the winter, I agreed to become one of the Wenatchee World's (our local daily paper) Community Connections columnists. This venue gives me the opportunity to promote dahlias and dahlia growing throughout the North Central Washington area. Also, for the second year in a row, wrote an article for the PSDA annual publication, Dahlias of Today. If you haven't picked up your copy yet, you can order one from the ADS store (www.dahlia.org), or talk to me - our club ordered a few extras that can be had for the low low price of $12+ postage if I have to mail it to you.

I've been very busy with my dahlias, not having been able to "wait patiently" for spring to appear before digging into those beautiful brown paper boxes stuffed with pine chips and possibilities. I also started my seedlings long before I was supposed to and therefore have a couple flats full of babies that are already about 7-8 inches tall. Oh, the joy of not knowing what blooms will emerge from these seemingly similar green stems and leaves!

On my way to Fernie's this morning to do our first tuber sorting, in preparation for our April 26 tuber sale. I have 13 boxes of tubers in my Forester, ready to hit the road in about an hour....I have a few other errands to do before ending up at the Springwater headquarters for our tube sale work, so it will be full day, to be sure.