[oqeygallery id=19]To someone starved to see dahlias growing as I was this summer, Hamilton Dahlia Farm in Hamilton, MI, is a Las Vegas sized, all you can eat buffet. Lots of variety, for every taste, and it goes on for acres. The difficult part of this post was selecting which of the many beautiful dahlias to feature in the gallery. The Farm is not a public garden where you might go to see how dahlias work in mixed borders, like the Peace Garden in Caen, France. You may see the occasional weed or stem from quick and efficient dead-heading. Don’t worry, the sheer vibrance of these beautiful flowers captures the eye and sends their charms straight to the heart. And, in terms of dahlias by the square foot, the Farm is actually several times the size of those gardens and other French dahlia demostration gardens like Orleans La Source, Coutances, and Parc Floral Vincennes. The Farm sells its dahlias wholesale; there were a couple of wedding parties there the same day that I was, picking them by the dozen, and also sells retail at two different farm markets in Michigan. On Saturdays they sell at Fulton Street Market in Grand Rapids, which is where the last shot was taken.
Most of my success has been with small varieties, starting with some I bought for my deck boxes a couple of years ago. So I made a beeline for the largest, bowling-ball-wanabees with beauty treatments. Most of the pictures I selected feature them. Where I could find the name tags, I’ve labeled them. The Farm’s web site also has many beautiful pictures, all labeled.