Wisley Dahlias

Aren't they wonderful and so perfect! I was the same at the Dundee Show Cinders. I didn't even take the Camera this year. :)

Oh Karen, they were beautiful, must take an awful lot of time and effort to get them so perfect. Especially this year when there are so many slugs about.

So beautiful. I used to grow dahlias for many years but not now. Once, I tried to exhibit them at my local flower show and although I had plenty of beautiful blooms for many days, I had none good enough to exhibit on the very day. I was so disappointed that I gave up growing them any longer.

Oh dear costas, that's a shame , I know what a frustrating thing that is. My neighbour shows his and last year had the same problem.

I like them mixed in with greenery best. I have grown them for three years but they don't look this good.

A lovely selection, we have grown two large exhibition dahlias, but they are really too massive for our garden.....

They are perfection, and not a slug in sight. I wonder how they do it.

They grow them in poly tunnels up here. And in greenhouses too. But they grow thousands for one show vase. To me that seems totally ridiculous!

Smashing....I love Dahlias of all varieties!

I agree Linda, it needs the green to set them off in my opinion.
Dotty they would probably take too much room in your lovely garden.
Stera, I on dear if they bag the heads, I remember my dad doing that with his chrysanthemum years ago, to stop the slugs and earwigs.
I agree with you on that one Karen.
Glad you enjoyed them Paul.

That sounds familiar now you mention it Cinders.
We had a member a couple of years ago who was a whizz at dahlias -can't remember his name now.

They're beautiful. I love Dahlias. I wish I had room to grow lots of them.

I love them but could never hope to get any like those, I can remember my grandad and one of my uncles growing them when I was kid, they used to have bags on them, both nanna and my aunt were banned from ever touching any and woe betide anyone who dared enter the front gardens without permission, their flowers were only for the local village show, imagine getting ready for a display like the ones you have shown us, I saw a programme on the growing and preparation for a show a couple of years back, all the time and effort, getting the lighting right to try and guarantee perfect blooms at the right time, even tweaking the petals with tweezers to get them right for the day, they are beautiful but think I'll stick with my mediocore efforts in my own garden..
Lovely photo's Cinders, thankyou for sharing...

Now I wish we had visited the Dahlia marquee, Cinders! They're superb, so many colours and types. We did see many folk going home with their Dahlia purchases later on. Thanks for showing these. :o)

Yes Hywel, they do need a lot of room don't they.

Lincs you brought back lots of memories for me, thank you.

Shirley thanks, we usually try to get a look in, they are so beautiful,

I love Dahlias but when I've tried to grow them on the balcony they seem to attract every earwig for miles around!

Last year, for the first time in many, I bought some small plug plants of a dwarf variety to grow in the long, white troughs on the balcony floor up against the railings. They had very dark foliage & the flowers were quite nice - only they did get a bit too wide & smothered other plants. I didn't lift them in the winter & they stayed there & came up again in June. They didn't do half as well this year as last but I didn't notice them being chewed to death by the earwigs!

I'm going to take them out this winter as I don't want them a 3rd summer in the troughs. Not sure at present if I really want to keep them for next year. But as I can't resist keeping plants that are still growing I will probably keep the tubers over the winter & if they survive plant them in pots next year.