ARABELLA LENNOX-BOYD
1 Dahlia ‘Edge of Joy’†
A decorative dahlia with delightfully pale-pink flowers with a dark burgundy frill radiating from the yellow stamens. Ideal for planting in containers, or I like to surround it with Heuchera ‘Obsidian’ at the front of a border. Flowers (F) July – September. Height (H) 90cm.
2 Dahlia ‘Bishop of Auckland’
A most elegant, single-flowered dahlia, very prolific and adored by bees and butterflies. I plant it through Anemanthele lessoniana, Agapanthus ‘Midnight Star’ and Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘Heavenly Blue’ as if in a meadow. One of the best of the Bishop Series. F July – September. H 1m.
3 Dahlia ‘Fairway Spur’
Bronze with a suffusion of pink, peach and mango, its petals are gently twisted and huge. Wonderful as a cut flower, it mixes well with cornflower blues and other coffeecoloured dahlias. F July – November. H 1m.
4 Dahlia ‘Karma Maarten Zwaan’
A good choice for pots, the waterlily-type flowers are excellent cut flowers. In my garden they come through Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’, Agapanthus ‘Silver Baby’ and Salvia chamaedryoides.
F July – September. H 80cm.
5 Dahlia ‘Chat Noir’
A stunner with a deep, dark-burgundy almost black flowers. This large-flowering cactus dahlia is very impressive and mixes well with many other favourites. I usually plant with Dahlia ‘Twyning’s After Eight’. AGM*.
F July – September. H 1.1m.
6 Dahlia ‘Arabian Night’
Its large, double, velvety dark, burgundy blooms are perfect for mixing in a border. In my own it’s surrounded by Succisa pratensis, Deschampsia and Phlox paniculata ‘Düsterlohe’. The almost black heads add a rich texture to the border. F June – September. H 1.2m.
7 Dahlia ‘Totally Tangerine’
A compact anemone-shaped dahlia with single outer orange petals that are flushed rose pink on the reverse, and which surround a fully double tangerine-orange centre. In my vegetable garden they look great with Cynara cardunculus. F July – September. H 80cm.