Stylist & book author SELINA LAKE shares her on-trend styling ideas & glorious garden buys
To be perfectly honest with you, I’ve not had much success growing my own dahlias. Well – I’ve had plenty of success growing them, just not preserving them for another season! I really admire gardeners who lift and store the tubers each year, pot them up in spring and plant them out again for a summer display. But it’s a lot of work, and I think I’m a lazy gardener!
But I absolutely love the flowers and they really do give you bang for your buck with their constant blooms until the first frosts, so I’m going to try harder. This year I was gifted one of my favourite varieties, ‘Cafe au Lait’, a dinner-plate bloom in creamy wedding tones that lasts for weeks as a cut flower. I’ve planted it in a really sheltered spot and my plan is, instead of digging up and storing the tuber, to add a thick layer of mulch to keep it warm and hopefully safe from frosts. Fingers crossed!
The great thing about dahlias is that the more you pick, the more they grow. And the trick to keeping cut stems looking good is to change the water in the vessel regularly. They dry beautifully too: simply hang freshly picked flowers upside down in a cool but not damp space. They make lovely decorations – you could use them to decorate your wrapped presents this Christmas perhaps?
The colours from soft pinks and burnt orange to dark burgundy match the mood of the season. Some October days can be so mild, so make the most of it with a tea break outside, a jar of dahlias on the table. Find a local-to-you grower at flowersfromthefarm.co.uk if you haven’t grown your own. Yours in beautiful blooms,
Glove interest
Treat yourself for the autumn season ahead with a pair of super-comfy Burgon & Ball British Bloom Gardener’s Gloves (£16.95/one size fits all, annabeljames.co.uk) with cushioned palms and a divine dahlia print. They’re machine washable too, so they’l
