I usually have to pretend I’m writing on a Saturday but not this week. A blizzard of a week, possibly; disorganised, certainly; bit of a sense of things slowing down, not so much changing from one week to the next, let’s go with that.
Six reflections on the colour red.
One.
I had a row of Dahlias on my veg plot last year, which I dug up last autumn, and missed one. Dahlia ‘Alva’s Doris’ amongst the cabbages.
Two.
Talking of cabbages, this is ‘Kalibos’, a “red” cabbage. Strip away the outer leaves and it would look better; slice it in half and it’s a thing of beauty. It’s not red though.
Three.
“I support the left, but I’m leaning, leaning to the right”. Changing allegiances later in life, how does that happen? I blame JK.
Four.
I already peeked at someone else’s post and am experiencing a twinge of guilt over this one. I grew chillies this year, for the first time. ‘Apache’ and ‘Ring of Fire’. They did rather well, and there’s more to come. Lots more.
Five.
Not meant to be. There was a rogue seed in the ‘Sungold’ packet, which only became apparent when these very small red cherries ripened. They’re OK, but ‘Sungold’ are better.
Six.
Start with a Dahlia, finish with a Dahlia. Really deep reds don’t jump out like the vivid reds; I’m drawn to them close up, but they don’t pack a punch in a planting scheme, especially if they only produce a few flowers at a time. They’re also difficult to get an accurate photo of, this is about right, but it’s away from the context where it’s growing, amongst many other, brighter Dahlias. It’s the darkest of my seedlings. Name, you want a name? I’ll call it ‘Jim’s Dark Red’, unless you can come up with something better.
Right, I’d better get this posted and stick a link onto The Propagator’s Six, so the world knows I’m still here. I urge you not to be a passive bystander but to join in, it is truly fascinating to get these little windows into such a wide range of other people’s gardens.
garden ruminations 
I enjoyed your reflections on red. My proposed name for the dahlia (though this may not qualify as an improvement) is Twiddly Bits, because of the petal shape.
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The Dahlia will henceforth be known as ‘Twiddly Bits’, without doubt an improvement on my suggestion. Don’t expect to see it in garden centres any time soon.
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‘Sungold” are the best! And that hot sauce, wow…
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Wow is right, the kitchen was a hostile place while that was going down, even with an extractor fan at full pelt.
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Love red! The last Dahlia is a beautiful rich colour and I have noticed on your theme that you have to hover over the images to make them brighter. And I have to say that photo of the tomatoes is excellent – great DOF there Jim, not to mention great tomatoes. Glad I got my lawn mown yesterday as it is rather ‘soft’ here today!
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The hovering over the images thing I’d taken to be universal, I must find the setting and change it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. It was ‘soft’ here earlier, really quite nice now.
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I reckon we will be in the cloud all weekend!
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Jim’s Red or Twiddly Bits, that’s a nice dahlia. And blessed is he who repenteth his sins. As you experience the joy of Niwaki Toshibos, may I also point you towards their camellia oil as a lubricant? It has a big bonus if you need to oil as you’re pruning – it won’t harm the plants if it gets on them. They sell a little gizmo with a felt pad on it which you fill with the stuff and keep in your pocket for a quick swipe along the blades.
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I just received a follow up order of sharpening stone, diamond file and snippets. Now I’ve another reason to dip into their catalogue, good.
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Such a fun post! The dahlia grabbed my attention in that first photo, just as dahlias always do for me! Your chili sauce is spectacular. Lots more to come?? Wow.
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I have way too many chillies, not the easiest thing to give away. No one I know would thank me for chilli sauce at Christmas either, it’s HOT!
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I love it when a plant emerges to spite you, in the nicest possible way of course. I too have a pair of Felcos and a pair of Niwaki, love and use them both. Dahlia is wonderful.
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My Felcos usually have the blades glued together with chopped slug. The volunteer tomato might have had a warmer welcome in a lean year but we’re eating about a pound of Sungolds a day each, even after giving loads away.
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I’m a Felco woman myself. Those Dahlias look rather stunning against the green of your veg plot – a fortunate left over!
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I think I might put one or two more in next year, brightens things up so it does.
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I like your red wave. About cherry toms,I grew up “Sungold” a few years ago and found “Cerisette lylia” in a tomato garden in the centrer of France. I grow them for 2 years with “Super sweet” which are very tasty too.
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Sue won’t let me grow anything but ‘Sungold’. I might have to experiment with other things and blame them on rogue seeds in the ‘Sungold’ packet. Might work.
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haha … but not easy to hide something from our wifes…😁😉
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You’re right, it’d never work, what was I thinking!
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Oops : wives
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I’m not jealous. Nu-uh. I have some fruit setting now so with a bit of luck I’ll get some more before it gets too cold.
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I have the opposite problem of how to get shot of a mountain of surplus ferocity. Nice problem to have though.
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I can’t think of anything better than “Jim’s Dark Red” for that dahlia. Looking out at my garden, the nearest to red is my penstemon and, of course, the runner bean flowers. I need more red!
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