Dahlias add height and dimension to borders and containers
Image: Phillippa Lambert
After languishing for a while outside garden fashion, the dahlia’s return to popularity is long-overdue and much deserved! Long flowering (June to early December in a sheltered spot), easy to grow, invaluable in the summer border, and a desirable cut flower — the list goes on! They offer a wide range of flower types, some small enough for terrace containers, as well as a rainbow of warm, vibrant colours. Here’s why every garden should have some dahlias and how to propagate your favourite varieties.
Browse our full range of dahlia tubers for even more inspiration.
Phillippa Lambert is a landscape designer based on the Isle of Wight at a unique site in the Undercliff of the Island — a favoured microclimate sheltered by enormous south facing cliffs. In 2002 Phillippa and Stephen Lambert came across the ‘lost’ gardens of a Victorian mansion dating back to the 1820s, managed to acquire part of the site, including the walled garden and ornamental lake, and have since worked on their restoration. The result is not an ‘expert’ garden and does not try for technical perfection in any sense. ‘Make do and mend’ is the keynote — most plants being raised from seed or cuttings— and self-sufficiency is the motivation for all the growing in the walled garden. In essence, this site goes back to the philosophy of ancient gardens in sustaining the body as well as the soul. Read more at Lakehouse Design.
