Carpe Dahlia Flower Farm

08/17/2026

Friendly reminder to check blooms for froggy hitchhikers!
Photo 2: My new friend was returned to a different Sandia Barbie bloom to hang out for the rest of the day.
Photo 3: quick bucket for a bouquet for friends including 20th ave old major, Sandia Barbie and a second year seedling; plus shiso and amaranth for fillers.

08/16/2026

We were dodging raindrops and trying to keep our scoresheets dry at the annual judging event at the Bonneyville Trial Garden yesterday morning. I enjoyed myself despite the weather - although holding an umbrella and righting on a clipboard at the same time required significant focus. The senior judges took the rest of us around in groups and walk through scoring of the seedlings.

There are a lot of nice looking dahlias under trial right now, and a few I’m going to keep an eye out for release!

08/13/2026

KA’s Mocha Katie has been an interesting seed parent for me. I have it pictured with a first year seedling that’s a bigger bloom, twistier petals, and a taller plant format but with the strong colors. The second year seedling is a softer, flatter petal arrangement, a medium but bushy plant habit, and generally a softer version of the color palette.

KA’s Mocha Katie, because it produces so many blooms per plant, has also been a great seed producer for me. Anyone else using it in their breeding program?

08/12/2026

08/11/2026

I’m trying to make more of an effort to bring dahlias into the house this year. I’m also loving having lots of plants of varieties that I’ve bred. This arrangement has three of my pink/yellow/peachy varieties.

This arrangement includes:

Carpe Dahlia Summer Blush (my first variety I released!)
Second year seedling ( Summer Blush is the dahlia mom)
Carpe Dahlia Pokey (third year seedling being trialed before release)

Breeding dahlias has brought me so much joy. It is also such a great way to have healthy, virus free dahlias. If you haven’t started saving seeds - will you consider it this year?

08/07/2026

This dark red/burgundy seedling is the first official keeper for me of the 26 season. It’s another seedling of Carpe Dahlia Summer Blush which is turning out to be a fantastic seed parent. The seedling has an even, rich color and really tight, symmetrical form… different of course from the seed mom which is a little looser form and a blend of colors. It has the same strong stems as Carpe Dahlia Summer Blush and appears to also be fairly floriferous - although the second year is usually easier for me to measure that.

07/29/2026

Sandia Bliss is one of my favorite dahlias this year. I don’t always grow lots of my favorite varieties since I only add virus tested ones to my main plot, but I was happy that the tuber I obtained has now tested clean two years in a row. I have it paired here with Carpe Dahlia Mango (available this fall) and Carpe Dahlia Salmon Glow (hopefully available next fall).

07/25/2026

I feel that I have reached a new level of dahlia farming now that I finally have a frog sleeping in my dahlia photo. We had lots of frogs at the old farm, but not as many tree frogs and so they were mostly in the plants rather than hanging out in the petals. The frogs at our new location are definitely fans of hanging out in the petals - I have found two more today.

this frog found a first year seedling to hang out in. It’s blooming a bit into the plant, but the next stems seem to be taller and I’m excited to see what they look like. I’m thinking it’s more stellar than informal decorative.

07/24/2026

This arrangement is using a second year waterlily seedling that is a really good cut flower water lily. Long stems, tons of blooms, and lasts fairly long in a vase. It is a golden yellow and really pops in the field. It is quickly turning into one of my favorite seedlings from last year. I also have queen lime zinnias and I think the coloring works well together.

07/22/2026

There is something special about making a dahlia bouquet just using your own varieties. Carpe Dahlia Summer Blush is the parent of the second year seedling, and the resemblance is strong. I think the seedling has stiffer petal formation (summer blush can be a bit crinkly). It also has a deeper yellow glow in the center and the pink seems to be a softer, more consistent color. It’s already made the cut to move on to year three, which means I’m going to need a name soon.
Carpe Dahlia Pokey is an unreleased third year variety that looks like a mini Valley Porcupine to me. It’s a seedling of a seedling I grew from seeds I bought from another grower five years ago, so while I don’t have any Valley Porcupine in my field it’s possible as a grandparent?