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Among the Flowers – Delightful Dahlias

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A large assortment of dahlias of different varieties and colors is laid on a grey-colored wooden picnic table.

Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower

-John Harrigan

Dahlias Delight

I don’t think many people need a reason to grow dahlias, and for those of us that love them in colder zones like New York where they don’t overwinter it’s a labor of love to grow, store, and plant them year after year.

For a glorious few months in the late summer and early fall they pour out blooms as fast as you can cut them, but for much of the year they are dry tubers stored in a basement or just green foliage emerging from the soil.

A few of my favorite varieties

  • Hollyhill bewitched & black beauty – a deep purple red almost black, and white/deep almost black
  • Creme de Cassis – a beautiful creamy ivory face with deep purple edges/backs of petals
  • Bacardi – magenta and deep purple
  • Penhill Watermelon & Dark Monarch – dinnerplates with twisted petals in salmon pink/peach and complex pink/purple gradient
  • Big Brother – dinnerplate with twisted petals in honey/orange tones
  • Chewy & Crichton Honey – two ball varieties with pink/peachy colors, the blooms change with different temps
  • Snowbound – beautiful large white blooms
  • Platinum Blonde – white single ring of petals surrounding a creamy white pom center
A large assortment of dahlias of different varieties and colors is laid on caftan blanket draped on an Adirondack chair
A large assortment of dahlias of different varieties and colors is laid in a basket on a grey-colored wooden picnic table.
A handful of pink and white dahlias are laid on a grey Adirondack chair
A large assortment of dahlias of different varieties and colors is laid on a grey-colored wooden picnic table. View from above shows a stone patio beneath the table
A large assortment of dahlias of different varieties and colors is laid on a grey-colored wooden picnic table. View looks across the picnic table towards a stone path, raised beds full of flowers and greenery, and the side of the house.
A hand holds an assortment of dahlias of different varieties and colors. A stone path, raised garden beds, and wooded area are in the background
A hand holds an assortment of dahlias of different varieties and colors. A grassy lawn, meadow, and wooded area are in the background

Planting & Storing in Colder Zones

A note on ordering tubers – with almost every supplier and every order I have gotten incorrect colors/blooms not matching what I ordered. It’s so hard to get some of these varieties, so proper storage is the safest way to get them in your garden from year to year. I have been so sad when a variety I loved didn’t survive storage because they often are sold out before spring and then it’s at least two years before you even have a chance to see that flower again. So feel free to practice and perfect growing and storing them for a year or two before you invest in expensive varieties.

Planting in the spring

  • Remove and inspect tubers for damage – do not plant any that have rotted, tubers should feel like a potato dry but firm not squishy
  • Planting is relatively straightforward, but for the first time grower they often arrive as individual tubers or clusters
  • After all chance of frost has passed, plant them just below the surface (if there is a stem facing up) but if just a single tuber lay it on its side and their sprouts will grow towards the light. If it’s later in the season you may see an eye or stem emerging. If you have stored them or want to make sure they are viable you can wait until this emerges to plant knowing it may delay bloom time (which is tragically short in some regions)
  • Slugs are the main pest as new green growth emerges I sprinkle slug bait to prevent them
  • After slugs overwatering is the main concern, and later flowers are vulnerable to thrips and others pests depending on your area. Some gardeners bag the blooms to prevent damage but I find the pest pressure has always equalized by that time for me.
  • They benefit from cooler temps and water only once their green growth and feeder roots have established.

Process to dig and store dahlias at the end of the season

  • After a frost has killed the blooms and foliage you can cut back the stems and carefully dig up your dahlia clumps. I use a hori but some people use a garden fork.
  • After you have lifted them out of the soil, rinse, inspect and trim broken or damaged sections
  • If you choose to divide them now give them time to dry and heal
  • Organize and label – this part is so important if you want to group like colors or heights. I use cut up sections of yogurt containers with sharpie to add labels in bins and transfer to the soil. If i need to rewrite them I use alcohol to wipe off sharpie
  • Add storage material like wood chip bedding or peat moss and store in a cool/dark place like an unheated basement. It must not go below freezing or tubers will not survive
Raised flower beds next to the house with a stone path running down the middle. Foliage has been cut back.
Raised flower beds next to the house with a stone path running down the middle. Foliage has been cut back.
Raised flower with dahlia tubers that have been dug out for winter storage
Dahlia tubers ready for storage in a cardboard box with wood chip bedding material. Plastic tags made from cutting a yogurt container have the dahlia name written on them for easier identification when replanting in the spring
Dahlia tubers ready for storage plastic storage bins and cardboard boxes with wood chip bedding material. Bins and boxes are stacked on grey picnic table and benches to be organized for winter storage

From Garden to Vase

I tend to display my dahlias individually in vintage glass bottles or vintage milk glass bud vases. I sometimes add them into arrangements but find they have a much shorter vase life than other blooms and prefer to be able to change them out quickly.

Dahlia blooms in vintage glass bottles and milk glass bud vases in living room with black painted walls and grey couches. Dahlias are arranged on wooden coffee table at center and on mantle above fire place
Dahlia blooms in vintage glass bottles and milk glass bud vases in living room with black painted walls and grey couches. Dahlias are arranged on wooden coffee. View is across table towards windows and door
Dahlia blooms in vintage glass bottles and milk glass bud vases in living room with black painted walls. Dahlias are arranged on mantle above fire place with monstera plant, candles, and a birds nest on a stand in a cloche
Dahlia blooms in vintage glass bottles and milk glass bud vases in living room with black painted walls and grey couches. Dahlias are arranged on wooden coffee table at center and on mantle above fire place
Assortment of dahlias of different colors and varieties arranged in blue glass vintage bottles and a blue vase on marble mantle.
Large bouquet of flowers including dahlias, sunflowers, zinnias, on a grey wooden table. Chairs, grass, and a fountain can be seen in background
Large bouquet of flowers including dahlias, sunflowers, zinnias, on a grey wooden table. Chairs, grass, and trees can be seen in background
Large bouquet of flowers including dahlias, sunflowers, zinnias arranged in blue glass vintage bottles, milk glass vases, and a blue vase on marble mantle. Brass candle sticks with white candles, a black wall, and artwork in background

Want to find all my favorite flowers in the garden? You can find the whole series at link below
Among the Flowers

in the garden – bluestone garden patio build

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Selecting Stones

I discussed our overall reasoning behind the bluestone we chose in my post on the garden path, but from the stones that we purchased we set aside the smallest ones for the patio since those would quickly be swallowed up by grass in the path once it matured.

Digging Sod

We dropped a stake at the center and used a marker on a bit of twine to make a circle for the patio. Once this was marked began the task of digging sod.

Bluestone is laid out like a puzzle on the grass fit together around the footprint of the patio. Sod was dug down within the patio to level the area
Stones are laid out like a puzzle on the grass fit together within the footprint of the path running around to the side of the house between raised flower beds.

Base Material

After the sod was dug we laid down some layers of gravel and “leveled it”. I put that in quotes bc we didn’t want to adjust the slope here since its draining away from the house so we sort of built this on a slight slope.

After the sod was dug we laid down some layers of gravel and "leveled it"
A view of the patio from above with mosaic of stones added in a radiating pattern. The pathway stretches from the patio to the house.
A view of the patio from above with mosaic of stones added in a radiating pattern. The pathway stretches from the patio towards the raised bed garden beds on the side of the house

Design & Puzzle Piecing

Stone patio is built into the leveled base by placing individual stones in the desired pattern. Viewed from garden beds.
Stone patio is built into the leveled base by placing individual stones in the desired pattern.
Stone patio is built into the leveled base by placing individual stones in the desired pattern.
Stone patio is built into the leveled base by placing individual stones in the desired pattern.
Stone patio is built into the leveled base by placing individual stones in the desired pattern.
Stone patio is built into the leveled base by placing individual stones in the desired pattern.
Stone patio is built into the leveled base by placing individual stones in the desired pattern. View from above, showing nearly complete patio, picnic table, and tools.

Stay tuned for a update and final reveal on how this path looks once it settles in!


If you don’t know where you want to go, then it doesn’t matter which path you take
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

More DIY projects for home & garden

Follow our journey in growing and share in our experience and lessons learned from nature with more posts from In the Garden

DIY – Making a Live Edge Bench

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Live edge furniture (also called raw edge) highlights the natural beauty of the source wood, by leaving a portion or edge in an unfinished state (not altered using hand tools, sanding, or other mechanical processes). I recently took a class where I learned how to make a bench from a slab of raw wood, finishing it beautifully while maintaining the live edge look (this bench now sits proudly in our guest room).

Taking Classes at the Wooden Boat School

Sitting on the shore of Rondout Creek in Kingston, NY the Wooden Boat School at the Hudson River Maritime Museum teaches a wide-variety of hands-on woodworking, boat building, and other handcraft classes in their fully outfitted woodworking shop.

Taught by a wide range of experts, artists, builders, and makers, classes at the Boat School have become one of my favorite activities since moving to the Hudson Valley. I love supporting and being inspired by local craftspeople, while learning new skills, and having the satisfaction of bringing something I made, home with me at the end of the class.

Cobblestone walkway bordered by a black metal fence along Rondout Creek. Wooden Boat School is on left and a brick building in backgroundground

Creating a Live Edge Bench

For the class, we each selected from a variety of roughly milled slabs of wood, that had been sourced by the instructor from a local saw mill. I choose a slab of walnut, with cracks an a burned area of imperfection that looked like it had been struck by lightening.

The work on the large slab of raw wood, was almost meditative. After deciding which direction would be the top, I used a variety of power and hand sanding tools until the wood was shaped to a smooth finish. Some other students in the class used hand planes or the large wood planer that the shop had.

Woodworking shop. Slab of walnut wood sits on a workbench. Woodshop equipment in background.
Woodworking shop. Slab of walnut wood sits on a workbench. Woodshop equipment in background.
Woodworking shop. Slab of walnut wood sits on a workbench. Woodshop equipment in background.
Woodworking shop. Slab of walnut is held by a vice clamp on a workbench. Woodshop equipment in background.
Woodworking shop. Sanding slab of walnut with orbital sander. Wood shop equipment in background.

Bowtie to Repair Crack

There was a crack on one end of the bench, to reinforce I used a butterfly joint, made from a piece of scrap wood. I started by tracing out the shape of a butterfly on a piece of scrap paper. I cut this with scissors and then set it over the crack to ensure it would cover both sides of the crack. I then traced the shape of the butterfly onto the bench and onto the piece of scrap wood.

I used a hand saw to cut the bowtie and a hand saw and chisel to cut the shape into the bench. I used coated the bottom of the bowtie with wood glue and used a wooden mallet to tap the bowtie into the bench top. After the glue had dried, I sanded the top of the bench so that the bowtie was completely flush with the bench.

Piece of white scrap wood sits on top of walnut slab. Preparing to create the bowtie
Bowtie is glued into walnut slab.
A flat saw is used to slice off the protruding top of the bowtie aligned with the face of the bench wood.
Close up on wooden slab of dark brown walnut that has been sanded to a smooth finish. A white wood bowtie join is seen on far end of slab. A yellow orbital sander and other woodworking tools sit on work bench.
Raw Edge wood bench sits upside down on work bench. Metal legs are being attached with screws. Woodshop in background
Finished raw edge bench sits outside on brown/red brick walkway.

Finishing Touches

We used metal legs that were provided by the instructor. These were mounted by pre-drilling a hole and then using a screw driver to tighten.

Finally the bench was polished with a butcher block oil/wax to protect the wood and bring out the colors.

Since bringing the bench home, I have found the metal legs to be somewhat unstable, so I will likely replace them in the future. I am also not completely satisfied with how the bowtie came out (it is not completely symmetrical or even). I have been thinking about cutting it out and replacing with a pre-cut bowtie that can be purchased online, for a more professional appearance.

Finished raw edge bench sits on floor of wood shop. Tools and other wood shop equipment in background.
Finished raw edge bench in our kitchen at home. Bench sits on light wood floor, next to another dark wood bench, windows with dark velvet curtains, and a view out through windows into a garden.

Get inspired to do it yourself with more projects in our DIY series.

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