The Dahlia Family Garden Party

We had quite the garden party this year, with over a hundred notable guests. They were all from the same family, one with quite a bit of inbreeding I must admit. Did I mention they were all dahlias? 76 varieties were invited, with 113 plants in attendance.

It helped that the weather was so accommodating this summer. Our guests stayed long and looked mahvelous, dahling, mahvelous.

 

Our guest list included Ben, Emory Paul, and Dan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a Harvey, a Harry, and a Helen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They hailed from across the globe, with appearances by Normandy Sweet Lucy, Colorado Classic, and Spartacus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a Drummer Boy for entertainment, and a Duet. It was quite a Fiesta.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 
 
We feasted on Salmon with Ketchup and Mustard, enjoying Honey Dew for dessert.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Our party started in August. The guests stayed long enough to see a Tahiti Sunrise, Bill’s Sunset and Wanda’s Moonlight.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

One group was rather caddy, choosing to move on to a party at Willow Creek Church. We took 32 vases to church that day. Here’s a group picture. A very close family. Many others choose to stay behind and I have to admit there were so many guests left that our defectors weren’t missed.
 

 

It’s really a rather exclusive guest list, fine-tuned over a 10 year period. Mike still finds new varieties that he wants to grow, and he has to say goodbye to old friends to make way for his new acquaintance, new acquaintances who have to prove themselves to be invited back next year. A dahlia, for example, that has a beautiful bloom, but produces few of them, won’t find an invite in the mail from Mike next year.

Wanda’s Aurora will be on our guest list. She’s beautiful, and quite the repeat bloomer.

To everyone’s chagrin, the good time had to end. Our guests called it quits when there was a hard frost. It was time to bring them in to rest a bit over the winter, then we will start planning next year’s party.