It is not often one sees a huge field of Dahlias.
This one I passed two weeks ago in Storrington and had to stop the car. Dahlias were originally imported from South America for their edible roots, went through a period of being in fashion and then out again. In the last ten years they have multiplied in the variety of colour and form one can buy and have a strong ability to keep their vividness from the end of August till November.
They can be planted in random points in your bed design or in large clumps of 5 or 6. They come in different heights as well, some being over two metres so can enliven the back of the border.
The warm winters have meant that people often leave them in the ground covered by a thick mulch but best practise is to lift them in November and clean and store the tubers in a dry, dark place ready for late Spring planting.
