Dahlias are a relatively recent discovery for me. Perennials have been the backbone of my garden (and tablescapes) for time immemorial. Hydrangeas do more than their share of heavy lifting, but perennials begin to look pretty shabby by August, when dahlias really start to come into their own.
I think Floret Flower Farms’ beautiful pictures elevated dahlias in my attention.
Erin Benzakein, one of Floret’s owners, has written several books on cutting gardens and flower arranging. Discovering Dahlias, her fourth book in the series. Before I knew it, I was busily planting a variety of tubers, some of which gave amazingly prolific results.
I’m looking forward to adding more next year!
The bouquet arranged for this table combines homegrown and purchased blooms.
I was groping for complementary tableware before it was even in the vase.
Coalport’s Indian Tree Coral salad plates were just the ticket, with Wedgwood’s cream-on-cream shell-edged dinner plates below. The copper chargers coordinated nicely with the copper wire napkin rings.
Fostoria’s June Pink water and iced tea glasses echoed the light peach tones of the Cafe au Lait dahlias (the bold, hairy-looking ones).
While I’ve had the Indian Tree salad plates for a while, the teapot, cream, and sugar recently appeared on eBay.
Just in time to set the stage for a cup of Soul Warmer Herbal tea from Plum Deluxe Tea.
It is described as “…sweet, toasty caramel notes of red rooibos with chestnut and hazelnut. It’s invigorating in a very soothing way…’.
It paired beautifully with American-style Carrot Cake Scones with Cream Cheese Drizzle.
The linens are Autumn Pasture by Williams Sonoma, a refreshing return to their imaginative elegance after several years of unremitting shades of greige.
I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m not relishing the return to chilly mornings. It’s taking a certain amount of girding of the loins to get out the door for the morning constitutional with the canine crowd. But afternoons are still sunny and warm, sufficiently to encourage me to set a few more outdoor tables before the gales of November send us inside until spring.
Enjoy these lovely days of autumn while they last!
Have a good rest of the week, all!
The mix of dahlia colors go beautifully with your plates. I was always under the impression that you had to dig them up and store for the winter like gladiola bulbs. Maybe I’m wrong. However, it’s nice to have some outside color now. Lovely table once again.
You are absolutely correct about the need to dig up the dahlia tubers, Maura. I got lucky with the plants in front of our stone wall. I didn’t dig them up last fall as we were in the throes of the kitchen renovation and I ran out of time. But they survived the winter and returned this spring stronger than ever. I’m not taking chances this year, and will take them up next week. The ones in the unprotected garden didn’t make it.
Dear Helen, This table is a lovely ode to autumn and a relief from unremitting oranges and reds. I have those pretty glasses, too, and use them often. Several years ago I was similarly energised by Floret and put in my first Café au Lait, which I now grow every year. The slugs were voracious this year because of all the rain, so I lost several early on. We have a Golden October now, with warm days and cool nights, so I hope to get another couple of weeks out of the blooms when, as you say, there is not much else to cut. Dahlias are native to Mexico, so you were lucky they survived. Surprisingly, some also do in this cold snowy-winter clime if they are close to a protective heat-storing wall.
I’m so pleased to hear the Cafe au Lait from Floret worked well for you, Beatrice. I think I planted mine in unwelcoming ground because they didn’t flourish. I’ll try again!
How goes the new abode?
I got my dahlias from Verbrughe in NL. The new abode is best left unmentioned. On the day before closing (!!), the owner finally admitted that the work that should have been done on the roof this summer has not been. The bank retorted that they would not lend on a Grade I 1620 chateau with a wonky roof. Now in Friuli-Venezia Giulia looking at property…sigh.
Oh NO! I am so sorry. What a c*&k up on the owner’s part, and who can blame the bank? Ugh. Best of luck with the hunt, Beatrice. I’m rooting for you!