Fall Visit to Mendocino; The Dahlia Edition

 Last weekend I had one of those 'I Need to Get the Hell Out of Here' road trips, just a brief 2 night stay on the Mendocino Coast. Of course the weather was fabulous, but horrible for photos . When the fog started to roll in Saturday night I should have high-tailed it to the botanical garden to take photos before closing time, but I missed that opportunity and instead went Sunday morning with full cloudless sun. I didn't even bother to take many images with the exception of the Dahlia garden-it was in peak bloom and protected by partial shade from a grove of giant Eucalyptus and a ring of Cypress that looms over this area. I love Dahlias but I find them extremely awkward as garden plants and really struggle with finding places for them in my own garden. Oh to have spot for a cutting garden-the ultimate solution.



 The least horrible of garden shots



Suitably Mendocino Coast signage.




  The Dahlias love the cool frost free environment here, but they are literally a 1 minute stroll from the ocean and are subject to the fog, rain and wind that define this coast. I find it easy to overlook the occasional blobby rain soaked flower and the bent stems.



  The garden is well tagged but in October most of the labels are obscured by the lush growth of the plants; you will have to forgive the following non-ID'd group of photos.














 I keep hearing the Dahlias are The Next Big Thing . I would be on board if it weren't for leaf-miners and spider mites.

Comments

  1. So many dahlias, so little room! The cutting beds made the difference for me - dahlias never did well in my garden beds, which are kept continuously on the edge of dire thirst. I want to add at least one purple variety and possibly a clearer yellow next year but that's going to mean booting out a couple of my existing tubers.

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    Replies
    1. I really need to figure out a spot to grow a few more-the plants look so crappy late in the season I hate to put them in anyplace too obvious ! For purple I can recommend Thomas Edison-I grew it a few years ago and it really pumped out the flowers.

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  2. It's been so many years since I've been to that botanical garden! Lucky really that it wasn't drizzly and foggy.
    I could use one of those "get away from it all" weekends!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Lisa, although this garden does not have the funding that botanical gardens in more densely populated have , they've made some real improvements in the last few years. It's only a three hour (extremely scenic) drive for me so I try to go at least 3 times a year.

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    2. I feel I've given dahlias a fair trial and will admire them afar -- resource intensive and lots of disfigured leaves from critters, mildew, etc. And I completely empathize with the condition of "I need to get the hell out of here"!

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  3. Stunning in photos, must have been magic in person.

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