Dahlias! Oh, dahlias. They’re one of those swoon-inducing flowers you’re sure to see when scrolling around on Instagram or Pinterest. Other than sunflowers, they have the biggest flowers I know.

Dahlias from My Garden Dinnerplate Ott's Thrill and Three Grown From Seed Bishop's Children Varieties

But there’s also great diversity in their sizes, shapes and colors.

In this year’s garden I grew a dinnerplate variety called Otto’s Thrill. It’s the pink one in the photo above. You also probably saw it as a cut flower in my studio.

Otto's Thrill Dahlia on a Shelf in My Studio

Most of the time when you grow dahlias you buy tubers which you plant in the spring. Tubers are widely available from garden centers, big box stores and online. Dahlias are not hardy and if you want flowers year after year you’ll need to dig your tubers and store them in a frost-free area till spring.

Dahlias are not difficult to grow. They generally need full sun and most varieties need to be staked so they don’t fall over.

This year I also grew a variety from seed called Bishop’s Children. The seeds sprouted well (I think I had 100% success with them).

A Deep Red Dahlia was a Fun Surprise Grown From Seed In the Bishop's Children Mix

This variety has single type flowers which open to reveal a darker “eye” surrounded by golden stamens (the bumblebees, especially, loved them!). It was exciting waiting for the first flower from each plant to open, not knowing what color it would be. Mine ended up being orange, red and magenta (as you can see in the top photo).

A Beautiful Deep Red Flower of a Bishops Children Dahlia Grown from Seed

The red, when first open, was breathtaking!

This year’s dahlias provided inspiration for my sketchbooks.

And for one painting.

Painting one of the Bishop's Children Seed Grown Dahlias With Watercolor

The season seemed to fly by before I had a chance to paint all the flowers I wanted to, but I guess that’s always the case.

Last year I grew a variety called Creme de Cassis.

Creme de Cassis Dahlia in My Garden Last Year

They were stunning! The backs of the petals were a deep wine and the top the palest pink.

A Watercolor Painting of the Creme de Cassis Dahlias in My Garden

I managed to paint this dahlia, too, and it’s the flower for July in my 2020 calendar.

July, August and September of My 2020 Botanical Watercolor Calendar Celebrate the Beauty of the Summer Garden

Although last year snow came too soon for me to dig my dahlia tubers, this fall I was able to dig them up and I’m hoping to overwinter them for next year’s garden. Perhaps I’ll try a new variety or two. (Looking through these photos it’s hard not to want to try more than a couple!).

What about you, do you grow dahlias in your garden? Do you have a favorite variety?

Growing Inspiration: Dahlias