Defiant Dahlias

For gardeners August was indeed a "wicked month". Flower borders were subjected to ferocious battering and bashing by torrential rain and storm force winds.

Yet at the end of the month your correspondent was able to capture images of a range of different dahlias that were proudly on display in his garden. The pictures displayed here were all taken yesterday (Bank holiday Monday 31st August) and prove the resilience of these exotic looking flowers.

Cultivation of dahlias is relatively easy. Tubers should be lifted and over-wintered in frost free conditions or new plants obtained for planting in springtime after risk of frost is over. Best results are obtained by sprouting the tubers in a greenhouse and severing the resultant shoots as cuttings, with a slice of tuber attached. These root readily and lead to vigorous plants with larger blooms compared with re-planting whole tubers.

Propagation is so easy that most dahlia growers will have plenty of spare plants and tubers so don't be afraid to ask for some spares.