Dazzling dahlias

Remember when dahlias were as naff as carnations? No more. If I could only have one flower in my garden, I think I'd opt for dahlias over everything, even hydrangeas and fragrant old-fashioned roses. (Mind you, ask me again in spring and I'd probably go for daphnes or miniature daffs.) My dahlias are spectacular this year. No, actually make that SPECTACULAR. Which makes me wonder how much better they'd be if I'd actually got around to staking or feeding them! I wish I could remember the name of this medium-sized dark red pom-pom type because it has been flowering for ages and it deserves to be recommended. My favourite is the dark blood-red giant decorative type 'Zorro'. It has absolutely huge flowers, wider than my handspan, but it really needs to be picked before I water the rose garden because the blooms are so heavy that even a few drops prove too much for the stems to handle. Luckily mine is held up by the low branches of a young Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy' at one end of my rose garden.
Another favourite variety has white petals splashed with pink and an equally flashy name 'Cincinnati Dancer'. It didn't flower last year (the snails munched the shoots) but the first bloom is about to open. It's the first thing I go outside to look at in the morning, and in the evening when I get home from work. The petals are showing colour now... I can't wait for it to fling open completely. Funnily enough, I've always thought of dahlias as high-maintenance beauties but mine are proving me wrong this summer. No care, no fuss, just fantastic flowers, one after the other.