Good Life Dahlias

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Stanwood, WA
Good Life Dahlias

Living the good life in the PNW, running, growing dahlias, and raising 5 kiddos!
(2)

06/16/2026

We had a tiny window of just a couple of days this summer that we could do something with the whole family, so we pulled the younger kids out of school for a couple of days for one last adventure before our oldest heads to Paraguay for the next 18 months. It was a short but perfect couple of days camping at Kalaloch with beautiful sunsets, beach runs, and rainforests of gorgeous green. I love the mountains and lakes of Washington, the abundance of wildflowers and plant life, but the beach was my first love, and I enjoy every minute I get to spend there!

06/15/2026

Eek! Definitely NOT what I expected when I pulled that trap out of the ferns! Voles and mice, rats and even a couple overly curious squirrels, but none of them made me squirm quite so much as this guy! It's Western Washington, so we don't have venomous snakes, but that doesn't stop the startle every time I come across one living his happy life helping with pest control in my garden. Blech!

06/14/2026

Our first bloom has arrived! Soon there will be 10,000 blooms overflowing our gardens, but for today, I take joy in the one :)

06/13/2026

12 weeks ago I potted up this tuber. Optimum conditions indoors. Damp soil, humidity tent, dark hallway. Root growth exploded, but nothing else until I checked the last couple of trays still hanging out refusing to sprout even though they all had solid eyes when potted up. Sometimes just take their time. Some varieties tend to be slower (AC Youge s definitely one of those for me this year. ALL of the tubers were late to sprout). 84 days is the new record for me to get a tuber to sprout! Thank goodness most of them are a bit quicker!

06/06/2026

The dahlias are.... Growing. Yup, they're in the ground, doing their thing, but any extra time we've had after planting was finished has been filled with senior activities, and sports galore! Tonight we celebrated high school graduation, and an associate degree from the local community college. This dahlia lover will be off to new adventures in the fall, majoring in elementary education.

05/29/2026

A bunny update for those of you who were curious.....
In addition to mama, the entire bumper crop of rabbits in our area this year decided that they would jump over the hardware cloth, and through the larger holes of the cattle panels of the fence to give my plants an early pinching. Which means my husband dutifully spent an entire day last weekend adding another layer of hardware cloth to keep them out.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE BABIES!!?? never fear, we left one little section open to a little corralled area with the nest and mama has been coming and feeding them without any issues. Eyes are open, and they are able to hop around, but still staying in the nest (but that is about to change!) The kiddos are loving having their own little nature lesson out there for a few weeks! Once they hit 3 weeks I'll move them outside the fence and they will be good to fend for themselves :)

05/27/2026

What do you do when a dahlia variety doesn't bloom at your house? At mine, they get a bonus year to redeem themselves, but if they don't produce, they lose their spot. No "third time's the charm" around here! Apparently I'm not quite so ruthless when it comes to other plants as I have a camilla that hasn't bloomed since the first year we planted it, and these irises have been hanging around for at least 4 years before they finally bloomed for the first time this spring. I guess the moral of the story is, if I don't have something better to replace you with, you can be a bit of a slacker and not get tossed in the compost :)
She's a looker though, and I'm so glad she finally showed her colors this year!

05/25/2026

Today I put the last 40 plants in the ground! Peonies, micros, and mignons. Last year, that collection included only 2 varieties- Stillwater Raspberry, and Kelsey Dwarf. This year they get their own section, and I'm super excited to see them bloom. These guys are growing in the vegetable garden because they are short and don't require staking, making them perfect for landscape plants, or growing in a pot. Joining the crew this year we have Kelsey Bramble, Radiance, Molly, and Amethyst. Lo- boom boom, Clara, and Tanager, and for the peonies Lakeview Creamsicle, Elvira, and Miss Muffet. Plus Suitzus Julie- a micro waterlily. Bring on the tiny perfection!
In other notes- we have our first buds on Lakehills Creamsicle and Florelie Seastar, and I somehow still have room to plant another 150 or so, so I guess I better start rummaging through the leftover tubers in the garage to see who else wants to be planted!

05/19/2026

Definitely not what I wanted to see when I came out to the Dahlia Garden this morning. Sometime in the last week since I planted this row, a mama bunny found her way into my fenced field and built a cozy little burrow for her babies loved with fur and fresh grass. Unlike the voles that I feel must be eradicated from my garden, I hold no ill will toward the rabbits. However, from experience last year, I know that these little buggers will Munch down all the smallest plants once they are big enough to emerge from their cozy space. Oh, what is a girl to do!?

05/18/2026

The moment you realize the formula on your spreadsheet was not summing ALL the rows, so the number of tubers you THOUGHT you had started, is not the same as the number of ACTUAL tubers you've started. 🤦‍♀️
I don't have a picture of that moment as it occurred tonight, so enjoy a few of the blooms around our house that are holding us over until the summer dahlias grace us with their presence :)

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Stanwood, WA

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http://GoodLifeDahlias.com/

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