Dahlia Dilema

I went out this morning to inspect my dahlias, hoping all ten had survived the winter. As I gingerly dug them out one by one, I discovered that only three had survived! I had heard of Dahlias rotting during Seattle's wet springs, but had never experienced this phenomenon in Oregon, where average annual rainfall is actually higher. I thought the people who lost Dahlias in winter must have done something wrong. I guess that makes me an idiot! Luckily, the Puget Sound Dahlia Society was having a sale in Wedgewood and I got seven more tubers to replace my lost ones. They had quite a unique selection. Many varieties I had never seen before. One I am particularly excited about is a beautiful peony dahlia called 'Alpen Splendour.'

Speaking of peonies, I splurged on one of the magnificent Itoh peony hybrids that have recently been released to the public. Kopper Kettle has 6" diameter sherbet colored flowers which do not need staking! The leaves are a fantastic maroon color that really set off not only the huge blooms, but leaves of surrounding plants as well. I had to move an established rhubarb in order to plant this peony and the roots on the rhubarb stretched to nearly 5' long! Transplanting the rhubarb was an excellent excuse to harvest some of the gargantuan stems . . . rhubarb crisp is on the menu for tonight.