When the National Dahlia Collection annunciate its occlusion in September 2020 The Beau and I were bereft . This petty patch of dahlia heaven was not only what bring us together , but was also the home of a dahlia The Beau had named after his later married man , the beautiful white‘Johnnie Ellis ’ . asunder from that , it was also our favored source of fresh dahlia varieties every spring , arriving in the form of rooted cuttings . Our enquiry about the hereafter of the assembling live unanswered : we had to sit miserly , like everyone else , and see what would happen next . It would seem that the aggregation had become part of a commercial-grade line , Winchester Growers , which then changed hands a few times before someone gamey up asked why on earth they were subsidise a study of dahlias in Cornwall .
redemption come in the phase of Louise Danks , a former production handler at the National Dahlia Collection , and the Kehelland Trust . Together they have move the collecting from Varfell Farm near Penzance to the trust ’s 16 Akka site near Camborne . The relocation appear to have been a great succeeder , with over 1700 cultivar and 22 species all settled into their Modern home and flowering beautifully just 12 months after . It can have been no mean feat . chapeau off to all involved , admit the team of enthusiastic volunteers , for rescuing an crucial part of Cornwall ’s recent horticultural heritage . At the present prison term we do n’t know whether the Kehelland Trust , a charity which support untried citizenry and adults with learning and forcible disabilities , will start to trade tubers or press clipping again . For now it ’s enough to know the collection is in safe hand and undetermined for the public to enjoy ..
The National Dahlia Collection ’s novel home is nicely shelter by alder hedge and neatly laid out in words . It ’s a little sly to find – our sat nav led us a merry dance – but there ’s ample parking next to the field . At the time of our visit , about a third of the cultivar were mark with their names painted on to smart grey slates , a few more could be looked up using reference phone number , and the rest could only be identify from a planting plan . Being eager to know the names of countless dahlias , it was a shade frustrating that they were not all name , but we ’ll be more than glad to fall next year to see if progress has been made with labelling . This newfangled enterprise is clear in its babyhood and will develop over time . 1700 cultivar sound like a lot , but it ’s the wind of the iceberg when it comes to dahlias , of which there are perhaps 60,000 or more registered varieties . It ’s just as well there ’s infinite on all side for the collection to thrive .
Should you be in Cornwall this October , the National Dahlia Collection hopes to remain exposed on Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the month . Checkthe National Dahlia Collection Facebook pagefor detail and directions . In the meantime , here are a few of our favourite efflorescence . TFG .
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Categories : Cornish Gardens , Cornwall , Dahlias , Flowers , Perennials , Photography , Plants
stake by The Frustrated Gardener
