Floral Fiesta

Flamboyant and prolific, producing blooms from summer to autumn, dahlias are a must for the late-season garden

- Leigh Clapp

Dahlias are hard to beat for showy colour and their great range of colour, shape and size.

You may like the demure, smaller single blooms or the dinner-plate showstoppers; the choice is yours from the literally thousands of varieties available. Whether dotted through a border or planted en masse, their presence is invaluable from high summer through autumn. In addition they make ideal cut flowers, grown separately in a cutting garden or amongst other late season perennials and ornamental grasses. An ideal way to select some for your garden is to take a stroll through the one-and-a-half-acre display field at Gilberts Nursery in Sherfield English, with the kaleidoscope of colours from more than 400 varieties all jostling together in sheer abundance.