Hello m' spicy pasties,
We spent last Saturday morning wandering through a triangular shaped field of Dahlias. Such was the assault of colour, it is amazing we ever made it out! If Dahlias were scented, I am certain we would simply have lay down and gone to sleep, like Dorothy in the poppy field, from the Wizard of Oz.
This is the National Dahlia Collection's first year at its new Cornwall base. Where previously it was down Longrock way (Penzance ), it has now arrived at Kehelland Trust, near Camborne.
It must have been quite a feat moving all 1700 cultivars! Thank goodness for the hard work by Louise Danks, her nice chatty dad and all the volunteers involved.
I really could have taken a photo of every single bloom, so I had to restrain myself. Not all the plants are labelled yet, but where they are, the names are clearly written in white pen on a slate tile. Some I have tried to identify myself, so please do comment if you recognise any.
Dahlia - unknown
Dahlia 'A La Mode'
Dahlia 'Creme De Cassis'
Dahlia 'Prince Valiant' (?)
Dahlia 'Inara'
Dahlia 'Honka Surprise'
I'd especially love to find out what this big peachy one is -
Louise said that this one is as yet un-named, but they may name it 'Violet Lulu' ,
I said "Great name!"
As we passed through Pool on the way back, it would have been rude not to stop by Heartlands. Here there is a great adventure park for the kids. More importantly, there's plenty of places to perch one's bottom and have a flask of coffee, after embarrassing oneself with a gone-wrong-mum-stunt.
How fab are these modern houses!
I especially love the one on the far left, with curved roof, and what looks like a little roof garden.
The 'Diaspora Garden' consists of a series interlocking spaces with swishy, grassy planting. Each tells the story of Cornish mining migration to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, North and South America.
This zingy painting celebrates the links between the Camborne / Redruth miners and Mexico's 'Little Cornwall'. Skilled Cornish miners and engineers took their culture and pastimes with them to Mexico.
Cornish Pasties took on a spicy twist, with hot chilli fillings. The 'Pastes' as they are called, are quite a specialty in some regions. It was interesting to read that Mexico's first football club (Pachuca Athletic Club) had only Cornish miners as its first members.
I thought it quite a fitting bookend to our little trip.
Mexico gave us the mighty Dahlia, which we lovingly planted in our gardens
....and Cornwall gave Mexico the mighty Pasty and football,
which they spiced up and truly ran with!
Hope you are well.
Please do say hello if you have stopped by.
Lulu xXx
Fabulous colourful post, Lulu! It's good to see that in the crazy world we are living in at the moment, of warnings of shortages etc, that we can still find joy in nature.
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend
Best wishes
Ellie
Thank you Ellie. The Dahlia field was quite a sight to behold! All the better with a flask of coffee too. Lulu xXx
DeleteWow I love those flowers , they sing so Loudly . I love anything vibrant and colourful. I picked up some glads not cheap over here but they always make my heart sing when they start to open, they beat a carnation any day.
ReplyDeleteWe have this playpark near us and I always end up on the swings and then scare myself when I get far too high I blame the kids for egging me on!!
I love different shaped houses, we have igloos you can stay in over here but I wouldn’t recommend them as they are a tad creepy it looks like a smurf village on acid!! Take care and keep safe.
The gladioli are edible and look stunning torn up into salads
DeleteHello Allie, my folks have beautiful bright red gladioli in their garden.
Delete(Thanks for the tip Cherie - think I might be stealing some for a posh looking salad!) . I've found Carnations to be very temperamental, but I do adore their scent.
Do you ever do a 360 on the swings?!?! Kids can be very naughty egging on us adults to do daft things. I remember watching a programme about Japanese business men and women. It showed them booking 'sleep pods' that looked a little igloo like, to have power naps over lunch time. Take care m'luverly. Lulu xXx
Hi Lulu, How beautiful are those dahlias? The Honka Surprise made me chuckle for some inexplicable reason. Hope they go with Violet Lulu! Gareth would love the “pastes” I’m sure - pastry and spice are two of his favourite things. Persevere with the Mum stunts - use it or lose it as they say! xxx
ReplyDeleteI thought they were called Honka Honka ! :0 :) Great name isn't it ! I have tried a spicy sweet potato 'Cornish Pasty' ... but there is UK spicy... and there's Mexican spicy... which may be entirely very different things :0 Thanks Claire, I'll try not to break a leg ;) Lulu xXx
DeleteGoodness, what a wonderful collection of Dahlias!!! They are beautiful! I love the vivid pink globe ones.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went to Harrogate last Summer, they had an incredible Dahlia festival/display and we greedily took many photos!!
I can't seem to see a roof garden in the pics but it is small on my phone!
Hope you are well.xxx
Ah, I've heard of the Harrogate Dahlia display Kezzie! How nice to see it. The pom pom ones are just great aren't they. I'm not usually into pink, but my eyes were seeking it out on this occasion. Hope you are well. I need to pop over for a blog catch up very soon! Lulu xXx
DeleteDahlias always make me think of old men and allotment gardening. They used to sell bunches of them on Sundays at local allotments. You had to shake the earwigs out of them.
ReplyDeleteMy dad tells a tale of an old allotmenteer that used to grow dahlias to sell ( you're not meant to, but who's going to call the dahlia police eh!). The earwigs seem to like the decorative type best and my single and anemone types escape them. When I see an earwiggy bottom sticking out, I scream, then promptly flick it out using the end of a paintbrush! Lulu xXx
DeleteOh my life, those dahlias are gorgeous, I'll have one of each please! Goodness me, 1700 cultivars! It's my first year of growing them and I love that they're still flowering like mad. I've been trying to decide wether I need to dig them up or cover them with compost and leave them in situ, any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteThose modern houses are fab, I'm with you on the one with the bendy roof. What fun!
I was watching The Antique Road Trip the other night (rock'n'roll, that's me) and Tim Wonnacot reckons the Cornish pasty originated in Devon - scandalous! xxxx
Hello Vix, I'm going to leave my tubers in situ this year, as my neighbour does, and the National Dahlia Collection do (imagine over wintering 1700 tubers :0 ). I'll put a thick mulch on them - made of seaweed, fallen leaves (chopped using the lawn mower) & spent greenhouse compost. We do escape the main brunt of snow and ice on the Cornish Riviera though.
DeleteWoooahhhh, Devon invented the Cornish Pasty!!!!! .....wash thoust mouth out!!! Very dangerous of you to go saying such pasty things as that!!!!!!!!
Lulu xXx
Hello Mrs Doolally Dahlia - Honka Surprise gets my vote - what a name - a real traffic stopper methinks - you are opening my eyes to the incredible variety and beauty of what I always thought was my grandma's domain - they are right up there - trendy, zinging with colour and tempting - oh how tempting - to pick!!! If/when I get my allotment I would love to try growing some of these wonderful flowers.
ReplyDeleteHello Betty, glad you love that funny looking Honka Surprise too. I could be wrong, but dahlias came back into vogue... may have since out of vogue. Well, my theory is, if one is never 'in vogue', one can never be 'out of vogue' ... and they are fabulous regardless! Please let me know if you give them a whirl. Lulu xXx
DeleteHow fortunate to have a National Collection of Dahlias near you in Cornwall. I can't even begin to imagine moving those 1700 cultivars, though. I'm surprised you were able to tear yourself away at all, what with all those deliciously delectable blooms!
ReplyDeleteHeartlands sounds a fascinating place and what a fascinating fact about those Cornish miners emigrating to Mexico! I'll have to ask my boss, who's Mexican, about those spicy Pastes! xxx
All I can imagine, is that flippin' kids were not involved in the labeling procedure (mine move my labels about for fun!!!) . That would be ever so interesting Ann to see if your boss is from one of the ex-mining regions and knows of the spicy pastes. Lulu xXx
DeleteI grew up with dahlias - my mother had them everywhere in the garden, however in Africa there no need to lift and store and mollycoddle them so I very quickly went off them once I'd moved to the uk. This year I grew some from seed and was gently surprised how the scent of the foliage reminded me of childhood garden memories - so I just might bite the bullet (so to speak) and lift this lot as they have cheerfully filled my eyes and the garden with colour and see what happens!
ReplyDeleteWell done for growing some from seed Kate. I did the 'sow along with Monty', albeit a bit later. The seedlings all got eaten down to the ground! That said, the one I re-plonked in the greenhouse has since regrown foliage - so I may be able to get it to flower next year. I grew most of mine from rooted cuttings, as I like them to 'come true'. Having seen the new dahlias though, it must be a very exciting life being a breeder. Lulu xXx
Deletei´m green with envy - i wish i was with you at the dahlia triangle!!
ReplyDeletesuch gorgeous colours and shapes!
your favourite one is right up my alley - the pale colour is so beautiful! and i saw in your photos the ones i have already - the "prince valiant" and one other, unnamed.... as cool as i find the ball shaped ones, the open flowers are better for the bees and butterflies - maybe we can have both :-D
i too like the houses behind the playground - modern architecture in a human scale and made with lots of wood - fabulous!
xxxx
Thank you Beate :) Oooh, the 'Prince Valiant' one is a lovely, lucky you. Gets me right in the mood for raspberry ripple ice cream. I love the pom pom ones too, but the bees do adore the single types. Yes, I may steal some ideas from that building if I ever get round to designing and building an eco lodge! Lulu xXx
DeleteWhat wonderful dahlia, such gaudy colours. We have five in our garden and, being a lazy gardener, I like them as they pop up each year and put on a colourful display all by themselves.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos - looks like you had a fun day, all good wishes.
Hello Mike, I will be joining you on the lazy gardening and leaving my tubers in situ this year (bar the white one - which does not colour coordinate and has to go!). More time for tea then! Hope you are well. Lulu xXx
DeleteHow womderful.Dohlias are such lovely flowers. I like the idea of scented ones. X
ReplyDeleteHello Jane, hope you're well. I asked Louise Danks about scented dahlias - she said there is one, that it very lightly scented and smells like talcum powder. Lulu xXx
DeleteHey Lulu,
ReplyDeleteNew to your blog. Through Ann. Love it here, thx for the fun reads!
Oh hello you! She's alright that Ann. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a lovely message. You are most welcome, but please do sign a stage name so I don't have to call you 'Unknown' . Hope to see you again, and the kettle's on :) Lulu xXx
DeleteOh, I just adore dahlias - they're the most joyous flowers, aren't they? I haven't been to Heartlands since the Man Engine - we rehearsed singing there and then performed at Easter in the freezing cold and rain but it was brilliant!
ReplyDeleteHello Sue, oh yes, they're very jolly flowers :) Lucky you getting to see Man Engine and sing along! I have just found a clip on YouTube - https://youtu.be/OYrnsfhuhb4
DeleteLulu xXx