We'd first like to say 'thank you so much' to Mary St George. Her comment left on our first post about planting Dahlias and the fabulous link to the Facebook page devoted to Dahlias is an amazing resource! We planted them today in our pots using the suggestions found in these links and the advice from The American Dahlia Society's website.
Our first question was 'there seems so many tubers for each plant'. We found the answer to be yes, it is okay and we can think about dividing them in the coming years. Our next question was 'they have already sprouted in the bag! Is this a good thing?' The answer to that question was that can happen, just plant them accordingly. Don't bury the sprouts when potting them. After planting them, we took them outdoors where we will move them from back of the house to the front each day, making sure they get their 8 hours of required sunshine. To water thoroughly, we followed the suggestion of using a misting bottle. This doesn't wash to the sides the soil that covers each tuber.
We love the name Dahlia. We love the name so much that we've named one of our Etsy shops The Dreamy Dahlia. We also love the flower Dahlia but have never grown any. Documenting our progress along the way, we have taken the all important first step and bought a package of three Dahlia tubers.
I remember when I was a little girl, the phrase 'winter white sales' was used a lot in the latter part of December around our house. My mom did her home inventory at that time, deciding how many sheet sets and towels she needed. With me in tow, each January she always headed to the extra nice department store in downtown Jamestown, NY...Bigelow's. I can still remember looking over the white sheets and towels. Surely by then colors were plentiful and couldn't have cost that much more. Not until today did I ever realize there is a story behind this January white sale stuff. Quoting an article in the Charlotte Observer, "Ever since Philadelphia retailer John Wanamaker first discounted sheets and other white products early in 1878 to keep textile workers employed during a slow season, January has been the traditional time for sales on bath and bed linens". Hence, January White Sales. Who knew.
My granddaughter is wondering (out loud) on her Facebook page today why people go back to their ex(s). I have an answer. Because it is hard to make changes...it's easier to just hold on sometimes. We don't want to make mistakes. Saying good bye is hard. We say good bye all day long. Not everything we say good bye to needs to be permanent, though. Good bye cup of coffee, good bye favorite TV show (until next time)....lots of little good byes. No matter how much we practice good byes, they never make the really big good byes easier.
Deep violet, plum...whatever your favorite shade of purple, it is a color of richness. At one time, this 'richness' was literal as only the very wealthy could afford garments with the hue of the once difficult to obtain and expensive to produce dye. Have you noticed how your attention is drawn to a deep purple garment on an individual? One might conclude that even today, purple carries the subtle tones of wealth, royalty and even power.
As a child, I was driven into town to exchange purple sweaters given as gifts by my apparently more broad minded cousins. Then, I had no idea why. I liked them and would have been delighted to wear them. Now, I know it was my mother's attempt to not have me appear 'uppity'. Luckily, times have changed and so has purple's reputation. Purples are everywhere with it's smorgasbord of shades to choose from...indigo, plum, grape.
Our online Etsy shop The Dreamy Dahlia carries several items in purple and it's various shades. If you are a veritable purple enthusiast that won't be satisfied with a purple hat and scarf, you may want to visit The Purple Store.
We all have things that we may have done differently over the years. I would have treasured things that were handwritten more. I have lots of samples, but I let slip from my grasp hand written recipe books by my mother, the childish scrawl from my son's second grade school projects, letters exchanged with my now husband of almost 42 years from when he was in the Navy. One's handwriting is like a snowflake...so many are close in appearance, but no two are identical. While we savor for the day a hasty 'r u ok' text message from a loved one, we will treasure their personal handwriting for a lifetime.
