10 zingy dahlias for a truly beautiful garden

Time for some bright and zingy dahlias, so be warned and get your sunglasses at the ready!

I have not grown many bright dahlias before, preferring the dark and sultry and the pale and interesting.

However, this year, I have branched out into the world of bright, zingy, patterned, and oh so colourful. A new colourful world that started with the tulips last year. Here is the link to that tulip post if you want to take a look How wonderful. A tulip in spring

I started to choose brighter colours to aid my recovery from stress and anxiety because bright and zingy to me, means a more colourful world.

In essence, gardening is a real boon to wellbeing so filling a garden, courtyard, or pots on a balcony with colourful dahlias is a fabulous idea.

Clearly, a fantastic reason to get more dahlias too so let’s get bright, zingy and bring on the colour.

The first two bright zingy dahlias

Wow, Tahiti Sunrise is definitely one of the bright and zingy dahlias isn’t it.

Initially, the luminous yellow appears, then the petals transition into bright pinkish red with magenta purple tips.

Surely, a fabulously mixed up cocktail of colour in one bloom, so well deserving of a place in this bright and zingy dahlia post I thought.

Introduced in 1975, so this one has been brightening the world for a few years then and is now sparkling in my garden.

A semi cactus variety, so spiky to the eye and a real firework of a dahlia.

Height around 90 cm when fully grown.

Next up is dahlia French Cancan. A very bright dahlia indeed.

A flouncy decorative dahlia, dancing the cancan in my garden. I was not sure quite where to plant her, but I am growing to love this exuberant dancer.

With flowers that are two tones of orange, pale tangerine with outer petals of a dark reddish orange, this one glows in dull weather.

However, one bloom has appeared which is almost yellow, so I hope that is a one off, as I prefer the orange tones where this one is planted.

As the petals are slightly twisted, this dahlia does give the impression of movement, hence the cancan name perhaps.

My first year of growing this one, but it should reach a height of around 1m in time.

More zingy dahlias

Next, we have a jolly bright dahlia named Hayley Jane. Another new one for me this year, and a shockingly bright one for the borders.

Also a spiky cactus dahlia, like Tahiti Sunrise, so a continuation of the fireworks display.

Gosh, imagine those two planted together. I would love to see a photo if anyone fancies being that colourful.

A zingy bright pink with partly white petals leading to a yellow centre. Besides the neon pink blooms, one is looking purple around the edges, so I am hoping for more of these too.

Another dahlia which should reach 1m over time.

Onto another of the super bright and zingy dahlias. One I have planted at the bottom of my garden, and she shines like a beacon from far away.

Dahlia Explosion, aptly named I thought. I can best describe this one as a bloom with red and yellow flames.

Accordingly, as the sun sets, the bottom of the garden does look like there are flames leaping out of the flower border. A spectacular show to be seen and many a photo taken.

Another dahlia which should reach a height of 1m over time.

More bright zingy dahlias

Another explosion, this time it is the turn of Purple Explosion.

Wow is the word or possibly wow, wow, wow!

The first bloom appeared and it was an absolute whopper. Measuring 26cm across which is over 10 inches, this one packs a punch in the border.

Talk about flamboyant! These flowers can be a mix of purple and white and each flower is slightly different.

Besides the whopper in the photo, others have been almost white, or mostly purple, a lovely mix of colour on the one plant.

Perhaps not bright and zingy but I have included in this post due to the spectacular size of the flower and the impact it gives in my borders.

Clearly, next year I will need a few more of these. One to make a Dahlia Queen swoon!

Over time this one should reach 1.2m.

Onto Bora Bora, another of the very bright and zingy dahlias. Named after a South Pacific Island this one is another cactus variety.

Because of the island name, the colours do remind me of the seaside.

Accordingly, I would describe the colours as a coral pinkish red with a golden sandy yellow centre.

I have planted my Bora Bora fairly near one of my wildlife ponds. However, I will have to imagine the sound of gently lapping waves.

Growing to a height of around 90cm, so a miniature palm tree on your island.

Two more zingy dahlias

Another of those bright and zingy dahlias. This one is named Orfeo, and I have four of them in my garden. All four are planted together for maximum colour and zingyness (new word!)

A spiky cactus variety, in a neon bright pink which brings a great pop of colour in the border.

The flowers are around 15cm in diameter and this one can reach a height of 1.1m over time. Mine are new this year and all are flowering well.

Besides planting in the border, these ones are suitable for pots. A fantastic idea if you wish to have some bright neon pink in a courtyard or on a balcony.

Next, we have dahlia Fashion Monger.

I currently have two of these dahlias, and jolly bright and colourful they are too. These are collarette dahlias, and a firm favourite with pollinators.

Each flower is a pinkish red with some creamy white in a simple pattern, and it certainly gets some wows from visitors to my garden. I love the golden yellow centres with the nectar rich florets.

I had not heard of this dahlia until recently so I presumed it was a new variety but it was actually introduced in 1955.

A reasonably tall dahlia, height from 70cm up to 1m over time.

The final two bright dahlias

Next, we have dahlia Marble Ball which looks bright red in the photo and in the garden.

Every bloom is slightly different. Some have completely red petals with others marbled with white. Another bloom can have just one red petal and the others red and white splashes and stripes of colour.

Although this one is of no use to pollinators as a food source, my dahlia often has butterflies resting on the blooms in the sunshine.

Clearly, I have many photos of the butterflies on this dahlia so I will share some in a future post.

A new dahlia for me this year and one I wouldn’t be without. Growing to a height of 80cm, mine is almost that height already and a prolific bloomer.

And finally, I have chosen Cafe Au Lait Rose for this bright and zingy dahlia post.

A new dahlia from the Cafe Au Lait family, so a dinner plate decorative variety.

The colour is a solid pink which is super bright in my flower borders.

Another huge bloomer with flowers of around 25cm in diameter. I have three of these this year and all are flowering their socks off!

Each plant has about eight blooms at any one time, so I will often cut one for a vase indoors. The flowers are so huge, one bloom fills a vase and gives me some bright zingyness indoors. Something to swoon over after sunset.

Growing to a height of around 1.1m over time, this is a spectacular dahlia to grow in your flower borders.

I get most of my dahlias from Sarah Raven and they have all been great quality tubers. Click below for Sarah Raven dahlia options. https://www.sarahraven.com/bulbs/dahlias

This blog is a affiliate with Sarah Raven. If you click on the link above, and make a purchase I may receive a commission, at no additional cost to you.

Some fabulous dahlia books

Because I am totally smitten with dahlias, I have many dahlia books.

Besides the useful growing tips, I find that delving into the books over winter keeps the spirits up and we can look forward to a colourful garden in the summer.

Here are my absolute favourites.

Firstly, Dahlias: Beautiful varieties for home and garden by Naomi Slade. Photographs by Georgianna Lane.

This guide explores the history of the dahlia and gives cultivation tips. However, the best part of this book, for me, is the stunning photographs of some dahlia blooms. They really are swoon worthy.

Link to this book https://amzn.to/3YvwCod

Another fabulous book is The Plant Lover’s guide to dahlias by Andy Vernon. First and foremost, there are some beautiful photographs. But what I love about this book are the descriptions of his favourite dahlias. Some of his words are so amusing that I laughed out loud. Well worth a read.

The Link to this book https://amzn.to/3OS6II7

Onto, The Joy of Dahlias by Katja Staring. This book has some fabulous stories from experts and passionate enthusiasts. Also, there is a section on the history of the dahlia, cultivation and dahlia breeders. Another fabulous book.

Link to this book https://amzn.to/3OAy1Fh

And finally, Floret Farm’s Discovering dahlias. This book is from the celebrated farmer-florist Erin Benzakein. Along with hundreds of photographs, there are sections on growing, harvesting and arranging dahlias. Her flower arrangements are beautiful and split into colours. Another fantastic dahlia book.

The link to this book https://amzn.to/3Ee4v3L

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I hope you have enjoyed my bright and zingy dahlia post. Next up will be a tulip post, so do stay tuned for that.

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