LET ME BRIGHTEN UP YOUR DAY

Another dahlia is finally in bloom.  This one is the Platinum Blonde:

And two days later:

 

Now it and a few of my other dahlias seem to be covered in ants.  Should I be worried?  Should I do something about it?

This Aitara Majesty dahlia is so close to blooming for the first time: 

 

Some of my containers look like crap after 5 months.  Time for some new color.  At 4 for $10 I decided there were 8 mums that had to come home with me: 

This mum bloom (lower left side of the above photo) looks so much like a dahlia:

This bell pepper pool made me smile imagining it as a watering hole for the bug population: 

This creepy spider was on the underside of a Red Peter pepper leaf: 

And the last bit of color is Wednesday's harvest.  The red bell pepper from above, 4 Brandywine Pink tomatoes, beans, dahlias, and zinnias make for a colorful composition: 

 

And pretty tasty meal or two!  We're knee deep (well ankle deep at least) in planting the new patio garden, so I should have a pretty good post for you Monday morning.

Comments

[PGL]

Your Dahlias are gorgeous, especially Platinum Blonde. Mine didn't fare too well this year with the lack of rain being the problem.

[gina]

Heather - these great photos are really making me regret not buying any Dahlias this season. I looked at them a million times but just kept telling myself I didn't want to be responsible for digging them up to store them over the winter. I'm lazy!

[Heather's Garden]

PGL -- Thanks, this is my first year trying to grow them, so I've been pleasantly surprised by my results.

Gina -- Thanks, but you know I'm just as lazy as you are. Mine are all in pots and I've been told I can just store them in the basement after cutting down the stalks. No digging necessary!

[Sylvia]

Dahlias and Chrysanthemums are lovely for colour at this time of the year. I don't have many Chrysanthemums, they are not as popular in the UK as the US but treated myself to one last week. There are more and more 'beding' types of Chrysanthemum in the shops each year.

Watch the ants are not 'farming' aphids, usually if you have ants then there are some sort of aphids as well. I usually just squash the aphids by hand which keeps them under control.

Best wishes Sylvia (England)

[Heather's Garden]

Sylvia -- I haven't seen any aphids, but I'll keep an eye out. Strange that mums aren't as popular in the UK...not enough sun?