The dahlia, a flower with blooming stamina, bridges the gap from summer to autumn. “Dahlias have been huge in early fall,” says Carol Caggiano, freelance floral designer AIFD, PFCI. “They’re available in oranges, maroons, burgundies, reddish-golds.”
Larger dahlias are terrific in floral arrangements because they have a little heft and they’re not flat. So, you can make a great impact with just one or two, balanced by hydrangea, perhaps, just above the lip of the vase; with taller blooms like roses or lilies in the center of the bouquet.
That said, remember that a larger dahlia’s petals won’t be quite as precise as the smaller varieties. After all, there are more than 50,000 varieties, with great variation in size.
Photo courtesy of the American Dahlia Society
To keep them looking their best, put dahlias in a clean vase with lots of water.
If you put water and food in the vase, change it every two days. With just water, change it every day.
Dahlias usually last about five days.
Flower Fact of the Day: You know how I’m always talking about flowers pairing well with food? Well, you’ll see that principle in action on the Food Network tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Chef Michael Symon has his work cut out for him as he hosts Dinner: Impossible. In the Mother's Day Madness episode, Michael’s challenge is to create a picnic-style meal for 150 mothers and their families, about 500 people total.
The venue is the International Mother's Day Shrine in Grafton, West Virginia. Teleflora hosted the event to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Mother’s Day. Marie Ackerman, who runs Teleflora's Education Center in Oklahoma City, was on hand to help out.
If you miss it tonight, it airs again Sept. 20 and 21. For times, visit: foodnetwork.com/food/show_ie/episode/0,3151,FOOD_
28496_59321,00.html.
