Welcome to ‘In A Vase On Monday’ when I am linking up with Cathy at Rambling In The Garden to share a vase of flowers picked from my garden every Monday.
I had to pick my flowers very early today, before the rapidly approaching storm hit. I was so early that I put together my vase before I had even had my breakfast, so today I am sharing not just a jug of Cafe Au Lait dahlias, but also the freshly laid boiled egg in my little Emma Bridgewater Buff Orpington egg cup that I had for my breakfast as the downpour started.
All this wet weather, together with dropping temperatures is bad news for my lovely dahlias, which tend to droop very sadly when battered by wind and rain. As I know that it is not long now before they will be blackened by the frost so bringing the Cutting Garden year to a close, I am madly cutting as many as I can whilst I still have an abundance of blooms to enjoy. Looking back at last year I can see from my blog posts that the dahlias lasted throughout October and well into November, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that this year will be as good. Even if the season is as long as last year the end of the Cutting Garden is in sight, so I need to make the most of it whilst the abundance lasts.
Today I wanted to take another look at the stunning dahlia Cafe Au Lait. This is my first year growing this variety and I only grew one plant as a trial, having heard reports of this being a difficult dahlia to grow. I have to say that my one plant has been very easy – a little late to start flowering compared to others in my garden, but once the buds started they have flowered beautifully and easily lasted 3-4 days in a vase.
Dahlias do not have a very long life in the vase and droop quickly if kept out of water. They are such productive plants, however, that you can regularly pick new blooms, refreshing your vase arrangements as individual flowers fade without depleting the look of the plant in the garden. The harder you pick, the more the dahlias respond by throwing up new buds. Dahlias should be picked just as the flower opens – dahlia buds do not flower once cut and if a bloom has been in flower for a few days or more when you cut it the petals around the edges will fade and drop very quickly.
Regular picking also has the advantage of stopping the plants from becoming leggy. I rarely stake my plants and instead encourage strong bushy growth by cutting back to a bud well below the flower I want to pick. Often the stems I cut will have unopened buds on them, which I leave if they are well placed and will add to an arrangement or remove if they will make the stem difficult to work with in a vase.
I added a few late scabious flowers and a sprig of achellia to this jug just to remind myself of summer!
Next year I am planning to grow a few more plants of Cafe Au Lait and I will order my dahlia tubers in January from my favourite supplier Rose Cottage Plants. Most dahlia tubers I just lay out in trays in the greenhouse in late April and water regularly before planting in the ground in early June. As Cafe Au Lait took a while to flower this year, however, I am going to start the tubers off in large pots in the greenhouse in March, so that they can be planted out in June as well developed plants. When ordering dahlias I tend to opt for colours that will work well with my interiors and this slightly coffee coloured creamy dahlia has worked perfectly with my largely cream painted kitchen and dining room.
I hope you have enjoyed taking another look at Cafe Au Lait today and that you will pop over to Cathy’s blog to see what she and the others have made this week. Last week I spent a very inspiring day in London on the Flowerona Social Media For Florists workshop and I will be writing about my day and sharing photos of the lovely styling of this event later this week. I also plan to be back with more about my different varieties of dahlia, if the rain stops for long enough to take some more photos this week!
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Ah, I expected this dahlia but how lovely to see your freshly laid egg too – we are chickenless again at the moment but will get more in a while. I do regret having to buy eggs though…. I was really interested to read about your dahlia care – all things to think about for next year. It’s a learning curve, isn’t it, and this meme has certainly encouraged me to look at things in the garden in a different way. Thanks for sharing.
You really must get some more chickens Cathy – there is nothing like a fresh egg! You are right that flower growing is all a learning curve. Also what works well this year might not work next year if the conditions are very different. This year I have not had any earwigs to contend with but my sweet pea crop was a write off after the pollen beetle invasion – there is always something to think about! I certainly hope you will try again with dahlias next year – once you have the hang of them they are a very easy and prolific flower.
I was unsure if I liked D. Cafe Au Lait when you showed it before but I’m bowled over by its beauty today. Your images certainly show it to advantage. Thanks too for the advice about how to cut them. My D. Magenta Star has grown very tall and has now fallen over but is still producing many flowers. It stated flowering the first week in July and hasn’t stopped so I am very happy with this variety, I’m going to check out you dahlia supplier, I’m sure I will be very tempted.
I am so pleased you are won over Christina – I knew you would like Cafe Au Lait if I could get the photos right!!
Cafe Au Lait is so very beautiful, I think if I grew her here a great deal of time would be spent just gazing. Lovely too with your Scabious.
You are right Julie – I have to go and gaze at her every time I walk into the Cutting Garden – I also keep a constant vase full in the house.
Julie I have fallen in love with this dahlia and hope to plant some next spring in a special spot. You have taught me quite a lot about dahlias here so i hope mine will be happier. I do wish I had a greenhouse. But back to your vase….I love the scabiosa that you added. A perfect touch. I used the last of my burgundy dahlias as the cold and wet will make them mushy soon.
Thank you Donna – my dahlias have suffered in the wind and rain we had been having this week too. I hope we get a few more warm weeks to keep them producing.
I know that this is a favourite of Garden Gate Flower Co. It is very pretty.
I think this dahlia is a favourite with a lot of florists! The Garden Gate Flower Company has a really lovely blog and website – I have just seen they are doing a tulip workshop with Arne Maynard – that would be such a treat!
They are also doing a ‘Dutch masters’ course at Arne’e place, where you create your own still life and have a top photographer take a photo for you to keep!
We are going down to see them at their place this weekend. I can’t wait
Julie, just lovely. Your Cafe Au Lait dahlias are so winsome. I find them enchanting. Love your pretty breakfast scene too. Somewhere I have some egg cups given as wedding presents–must dig them out and use them again.
Thank you Susie – I just have the one Buff Orpington egg cup and I keep it all to myself.
That is a really beautiful dahlia, I am now trying to work out how I could accommodate one for next year – and am off to check out your dahlia supplier too. Great tips on dahlia care, I always feel bad cutting buds as well as flowers, as I know they won’t open, but at least it gets round the short stem phenomena and the “not staking” side effect is well worth it, thank you!
Thank you Janet – I am glad you found this useful.
Such a gorgeous Dahlia, and I love the delicate lilac tones of the Scabious with it. Thanks for the tps on picking dahlias too. It seems everyone in the UK is getting wind and rain, but your flowers still look pristine!
Thank you Cathy. They are not so pristine now after a week of bad weather though!
I love the Cafe au Lait Dahlia – it’s such a beauty! I’m glad to hear that you found it easy to grow.
Ingrid x
Thank you Ingrid – it is the most beautiful dahlia and still quite graceful despite its size.