Santa Claus Photo by Claudia Biggs

Frost came to Northern Virginia on November 8. When I first began to grow dahlias, the old-timers worried about frost in early October. Climate change? I began digging, dividing, and bagging the tubers the following week. It was a good year: a long blooming season and a large stock of healthy tubers for the spring. Whether you grew ten or a hundred dahlia plants, I hope you enjoyed our flower.

The upcoming holiday season will bring the welcome distractions of family, friends and food. Christmas cookies are a special treat. One of these days we will find a dahlia cookie cutter! I am still looking for a dahlia emoji.

Verrone's Morning Star

Our mailbox has begun to include general gardening catalogs. I cannot resist looking at the 2020 introductions.  I even purchased some tomato seeds of a new cultivar. I always look at the pages of dahlia offerings. In the past five years the number has expanded and some of the cultivars are relatively new. There is a great overlap among the catalogs; I suspect they are mostly sourced in Europe. 

The ADS website, www.dahlia.org, has links to a number of domestic commercial suppliers that feature newer as well as established types. A DVD of the 2020 introductions will be available in the  ADS Store  soon.  If you are looking for a company that sells a special cultivar, www.dahliaaddict.com provides links. To browse photos by size, color, or form use the ADS website's Online Classification Guide.

If you are related to a dahlia-nut, the Internet has a wide selection of dahlia paraphernalia for seasonal gift giving. For example, see all the  dahlia shirts  on Etsy.

Christmas Star

When I was young, I used to dream about Italian cookies and ravioli. This year it will be about beautiful blooms in the garden or on the head table.

Happy Holidays,

Harry Rissetto