It’s rare that I regret not buying a plant. This is because I scarcely ever resist temptation in the first place. ‘Buy it now, you might never find it again and then you’ll be sorry’ says the mischievous flower fairy that follows me around gardens, markets and nurseries wherever I go. ‘Don’t worry about where to plant it. Look, it’s sooooo pretty! See how it grows…..’
My particular flower fairy must have had the morning off the day I placed my summer bulb order. Despite marking the catalogue with a spidery black asterisk, I completely forgot to tick the box for Dahlia ‘Waltzing Mathilda’. I had great plans for this dizzying damsel with her fiery flowers and bronzy leaves: she would can-can with cannas, tango with taros and girate with gingers. I was even considering a sprung dance floor in place of the terrace.
My oversight was forgotten until this weekend when I spied the twirling lady herself in a trial bed of dark-leaved dahlias at The Salutation in Sandwich. Like other dahlias that have marked my dance card, D. ‘Waltzing Mathilda’ has flowers the colour of a September sunset. What distinguishes her is her purple-brown leaves, the relaxed arrangement of curvaceous petals around a central boss of golden stamens and the attaractiveness of her blooms to bees.
As a rule single-flowered dahlias are vastly more attractive to pollinators than doubles. It’s immensely entertaining watching bumble bees, their panniers already bursting with pollen, greedily coming back for more. D. Waltzing Mathilda, with such a profusion of flower, provides them with a veritable feast.
The next time I hear my flower fairy’s cheeky whisper I will chastise her for allowing me to pass Mathilda by. I hope she’ll be saving her last dance for me.
Categories: Dahlias, Flowers, Foliage, Perennials, Plants, Uncategorized
Oooooh, I want.
Excellent! One for the shopping list.
Sarah Raven does it, and crocus.com
She’s wonderful
Really enjoyed reading this and the photos. The petals really do look like dancing sunset flames, but the dark purple leaves also suggest a dark, muted dusk. It looks magical and must look even more so with nectar filled bumblebees buzzing round it.
Yes, Walzing Mathilda really stood out. In a post later this week I’ll show some pictures of the whole trial bed. You’ll need your sunglasses!
Well I’m certainly looking forward to that post!
I think I might be the flower fairy …… love this one, want this one!
I am going to order some cuttings as they have a special service if one can collect. They are a bargain at £2.50 each.
In the spring?
Yes, they’re available from May. Shall I get you some? I can post them to you.
I have been stalking every website, flower show and nursery since this post last year! Really wanted some tubers to give it a go but they are out of stock everywhere! do you know what time of year they usually become available please? I would have thought it would be around now? Thanks FG 🙂
Hi Tamsyn. Actually the new catalogues tend to come out promptly in the New Year and if there’s something you want specially it pays to have placed your order by the end of February. By now tubers would be well into growth. Sarah Raven are selling plants for delivery in June https://www.sarahraven.com/flowers/plants/potted_dahlias/dahlia_waltzing_mathilda.htm. You may find other nurseries start offering plants once they have reached flowering size. If you don’t get lucky, there’s always something to look forward to next year!
Ive ordered Waltzing Mathilda for my this years pots. I hope she is as gorgeous as your photos make her.
I hope so too! I doubt you will be disappointed.
I love your review. And the photo’s. This year I can supply the Dahlia Waltzing Mathilda as well as some other open heart dahlia’s. In the autumn I was not on the field however last year, and could not make my own photo’s. I have been looking on the internet now for a while and these are very nice, especially with the bumble bee, but also of the colouring of the petals. Next to my profession a run a simple webshop with spring flowering bulbs – all organic grown. For I would like to live in a chemicalfree world and for bulbgrowing quite some chemicals are still used. Organic grown however is possible and the pollen and nectar are food for bees bumblebees and other pollinating and usefull insects. I would be very much obliged if you would be so kind to allow me share these wonderfull photo’s? You can have a look at the webshop homepage, just to see if you like what we are doing. The webshop is in winterpause at the moment and will be actualised before opening again on the 1st of March.
Looking forward to hear from you.
Yvonne Endhoven
beekeeper and gardener
Netherlands
http://www.flowerbulbsforbees.com
Hello Yvonne. What a great initiative. I love what you are doing. Yes, of course you may use the photographs if that’s helpful. If there’s an opportunity to credit the image somehow I’d be grateful for that. Will you ship to the U.K. do you think? I know that just now it’s a complete nuisance to do so, but hopefully it’ll get sorted out soon. Dan
Hello Dan. Thank you so much. By ‘credit the image somehow ‘ you would be happy to receive some bulbs I guess? We shipped to the UK the last few years and I would like to do so. I have however no experience yet with the new measurements. If it takes quality control as well, like for the USA, there s no chance, the costs of the controlling and testing are only in reach of large exporting companies. I will let you know, if you give it a few weeks. Hopefully helped by some world changes 😉
Hi Yvonne! No, I simply mean to state the source of the photograph somewhere in the text or under the image. Just to deter others from copying or using it without asking permission. Thank you for the offer of bulbs, but I suspect it might be tricky in the short term.