Dazzling DAHLIAS
After first arriving in Europe in the late 18th century, dahlias captured the hearts and minds of Victorian Britain at the Great Exhibition in 1851. Before long, a dahlia craze on a par with the tulip mania of the 17th century saw new cultivars bred at an astounding rate to fill gardens with the colourful, showy blooms. In recent years, the trend for these beautiful blooms has seen a resurgence, and they are now one of the most popular and recognisable garden plants with thousands of different types available to the home gardener.
What’s your type?
Because of the huge number of cultivars available, dahlias are classified into 14 groups by flower type to help distinguish between them. Some, like Waterlily dahlias or Peony-flowered dahlias, are self-explanatory:.
