i had a bumper crop of cafe au lait dahlias this week. they're some of my best producing dahlias; after all, i do have 8 plants of them. sometimes i wonder what it would be like to have a whole bed of cafe au laits -- is it possible to have too much of a good thing? perhaps, but i am pretty confident that i'll miss their lovely faces come the other 9-10 months of the year. all the dahlias, not just the cafe au laits, are looking so good right now. i have lots of laterals, all full of plump buds ready to burst.

cafe au lait dahlias paired with coppery tones

suffice to say that this season's crop have done exceedingly well (not that i have much of a comparison point since it's only year 2 of doing this) and i'm encouraged to plant more. i think 2-3 more beds, for a total of 5, would be sufficient to sate my dahlia lust. (i say this now, but may regret my words in the spring.) as much as i love the 'au lait's subtle pastel tones, i'm looking forward to adding new colors, such as deep burgundies, browns and reds and purples as well.

the only thing that could keep me away from my dahlias this weekend would be a killing frost. it came early last year on october 12th. keep your fingers crossed for me, please!