Post by nutsberryfarm 🏜 on May 17, 2021 12:18:37 GMT
www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/floret-farms-new-book-discovering-dahlias-helps-gardeners-reap-the-rewards-of-summers-most-charismatic-blooms/
FLORET FARM’S LATEST book, “Discovering Dahlias,” by Erin Benzakein, with Jill Jorgensen and Julie Chai, is a field guide to discovering summer’s most charismatic bloom. Dahlias have a love language all their own, and at some point, in most gardeners’ lives, it speaks to us all: young, old, men, women, sophisticated floral designers, passionate dahlia-society members and humble backyard enthusiasts.
Benzakein writes, “Of all the flowers you can grow, dahlias are some of the least demanding and most rewarding.” Which is saying something from a flower farmer whose crops run the seasons from early-spring bulbs to the last flashing foliage of autumn.
“Discovering Dahlias” begins with a primer on classification by type, both size and form. From diminutive pompons to enormous giants (of infamous dinner-plate fame), presenting in simple singles, formal Fibonacci spheres, blousy decorative and quilled cactus forms, the diversity of dahlias is staggering.
Don’t let the book’s beautiful soft imagery, photographed by Chris Benzakein (Floret Farm is a family affair), fool you. Extravagant pictures of fields of blooming dahlias, sample bouquets and buckets of blooms appear alongside instructional shots for planting, pruning and dealing with pests. “Discovering Dahlias” is a hardworking and generous guide to cultivating and successfully harvesting dahlias, whether you’re planting up fields or a small bed in the back garden.