Ugly in the diaper, beautiful in the veil

Old ladies still use this long-gone expression, which I have rows of question marks about. If they were to say this about a Dahlia, I would truly agree with them wholeheartedly. My goodness, a Dahlia tuber is ugly. Really, we get bulbs and tubers of all kinds in the shed and there is nothing, absolutely nothing, as ugly as a Dahlia tuber. There is simply no fun to it. Well, sometimes a little bit, if it is a nice fat one, it is still okay, but if it is skinny… not a pretty sight. For the true Dahlia lover this may be a bit harsh but fair is fair and the Dahlia tuber is simply not as pretty as a Narcissus bulb. Often the appearance during planting is such that it makes you wonder whether you have bought a pig in a poke. A good friend of mine in Cornwall often says 'you need all kinds to make the world a bit interesting'. Incidentally, he usually says this about people, especially very strange ones, but of course it also applies to such a crazy tuber as the Dahlia.

The Dahlia originally comes from Mexico, but when you see the tuber like this you wonder whether we should have left that monstrosity there or how did it manage to cross the border. But as Mother Nature so often surprises us, she does the same with the Dahlia. It starts with the surprise that there appears to be life in that inconspicuous piece of, driftwood-like, tuber with its often broken legs; sprouts just start growing out of it. At a snail's pace, mind you, but there is life in it, something is growing. (More interesting facts about the snail at the end of this news blog).

If the Dahlia gets a taste for it and starts growing, there is soon nothing left to see of the snail's pace. In a good month, the Dahlia grows into a large plant that already shows plenty of flower buds. And then it happens, that terribly ugly tuber starts to bloom terribly incredibly richly with a tsunami of flowers that no other flower bulb, but then really no other, can match.

I know, you are probably thinking Carlos is exaggerating, I actually do that too sometimes, but I am not exaggerating. The only one who is exaggerating is that Mexican Dahlia with a true La Bamba of flowers that seems to have no end. Especially with those smaller open flowers, not dozens, not twenty, but really hundreds of flowers 'para bailar La bamba' (to dance La Bamba). You probably know the cheerful song by Los Lobos. Good tip, play this song when the Dahlia is dancing in your garden in the summer, you will definitely dance along . A small note, to dance La Bamba to the end, the Dahlia needs a little help; she needs a dancing partner to remove the faded flowers. If you do this regularly, the Dahlia will draw you to an inexhaustible flowering. It often starts in July, and then in August, lots of flowers in August. We still have a few vases, I picked Dahlias again, it seems like it will never end. And then we haven't even had September yet, how is it possible, even more flowers, it just keeps going. Fortunately, when the nights get a bit colder, the Dahlia also starts to slow down. But don't cheer too soon, the Dahlia will keep going. Her dance has calmed down a bit in the meantime and when the first night frost makes itself heard, you will see her last flowers dangling sadly between the black frozen leaves. Her dance has come to an end, the music has died down.

If you would like to dance with the Dahlia de La Bamba in your garden this coming summer, here are some good dancing partners: Dahlia 'Pink Pop' Dahlia 'French Cancan' Dahlia 'Kelsey Sunshine' Dahlia 'Mambo' Dahlia 'Bee Friendly Mix'

Oh yes, let's get back to that slimy snail. Sit down for a moment because I fear with great fear that this will not come across as good news to everyone. And, shall I do it, yes it should be possible, my readers will not be that WOKE. With 'reading guide 16+' just so you know because I will also show nude photos. Let's do it right away then we'll be done with it: The slug, I know, we should feel a little sorry for her because she was of course thrown out of the house by those other slugs but when I look at her like this it is actually quite right that she was thrown out of the house; she eats everything, there is no stopping her. Just imagine what it would be like if you always come home and the fridge is empty. You get tired of that, at some point you throw the culprit out. That is what happened to the slug, get lost, get out of the house, we don't want to see you anymore. Now I have to say that the slugs that still have houses are not sweethearts either, they also eat a lot . What I want to warn you about here is that I think the snail population is incredibly high in all gardens. I am not a scientist and cannot put myself in the shoes of a snail (just kidding) but what I do know is that the snail likes moisture. When the snail feels wetness it is in its element. What a snail does not like is prolonged drought, or even worse, frost. The past six months, perhaps even longer now, we have had a lot of wetness without interruption and no drought at all and hardly any frost. We also notice it in the reactions of people who have our spring bloomers in their garden; many reports of snail damage. Actually, we should hope for another heavy night frost or that it stops raining for a long time, that could give the snail population a big boost. But yes, that is not what you are looking for as a gardener. If you start seeing an excess of snails, I unfortunately do not know a good solution either. Maybe raking, or rooting the ground in some other way. Snails do not like that, especially the young ones, but yes that will also be a prayer without end.

What also helps is 'forcing' the Dahlia. While waiting for the last night frost before you can plant it in the garden, put the tuber in a pot with a little potting soil and leave it in a light spot in the house, in the greenhouse or in the shed. Next week I will go into this in more detail in the news blog and show you photos.

Time to stop, I still have to say hello to Truus and Nico from Haarlem, two new news blog readers. Thanks for the nice chat in fish centre 't Wad in Den Oever where I had driven to again because I lacked inspiration for a nice story. The seasoned reader knows that I drive to Den Oever for a fish and on the way there I make up something and then scribble it down in my notebook while enjoying a fish. Funny actually; none of the saleswomen have ever said 'no I won't do that, I'll tell others' when I say at the end of the order; if you don't tell others, you can have a glass of wine with it. We're digressing, now I'll really stop.

Kind regards,

Carlos van der Veek