I admit to being rather late to the dahlia-growing party. I’d always had a couple in pots but it wasn’t until last year that dahlias really took a hold in the garden – and in my affections. Now, I’m smitten and a new book by Naomi Slade isn’t going to help.
Engagingly written and beautifully illustrated by photographer Georgianna Lane, Dahlias is a book to wallow in and dream.
It starts with a history of these late summer favourites, tracing their journey to our gardens via conquistadors and plant breeders.
Like the tulip before them, in the past dahlias have inspired a sort of horticultural mania with tubers in the early 19th century selling for as much as £100, the equivalent, Slade tells us of “several years’ wages for a working man”.
Their appearance at the Great Exhibition in 1851 increased dahlias’ popularity and led to the introduction of even more varieties. Today there are more than 57,000 cultivars, although there is a lot of argument about classification and names.
They fell from favour in the 20th century but are once again capturing gardeners’ hearts: “And if you fall in love, then growing dahlias is a pastime that will last you until the end of days.”
Having given explanations of the genetics behind dahlias, how colour works, their anatomy and a summary of the main classifications, the book moves on to an overview of 65 different dahlias.
They are grouped in style: romantic; fabulous and funky; dramatic and daring; classic and elegant.
Each entry has essential cultivation information – average height, flower size, whether it makes a good cut flower, alternative varieties – alongside a description and suggestions for planting companions.
That the book sidesteps the trap of being merely an overpriced catalogue is due to the lively comments on the dahlias.
‘Star Child’ has “a name that sounds as if it was conceived at a festival in the summer of love and an appearance that borders on the ethereal”.
In complete contrast “Boogie Woogie looks rather as if someone has blow-dried a punk canary” and the tricoloured ‘Caribbean Fantasy’ “arrives with a whiff of bright cocktails, a dash of rum punch and a lazy reggae soundtrack”.
Many of the names made me smile – ‘Happy Single Wink’ – but we’re told the choice can sometimes be arbitrary and the reasons are often unclear.
Dahlias would be an ideal book for someone who is just encountering this varied and flamboyant flower. Established growers, though they could just drool over the photos, would have little need of the growing and care section with information on pests, diseases, overwintering and propagation.
And surely, they would already grow all 65 varieties. Wouldn’t they?
• Dahlias, beautiful varieties for home and garden by Naomi Slade, photography by Georgianna Lane, is published by Pavilion Books, priced at £25 RRP. Buy now (If you buy through this Amazon link, I get a small fee. The price you pay is not affected.)
• Review copy supplied by Pavilion Books.
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