Be dazzled by Dahlias

Plant tubers over the coming weeks and look forward to months of colour this summer

- Sue Bradley

THIS garden favourite provides splashes of colour in borders, and generous supplies of cut flowers to brighten the home throughout summer and autumn.

Every year, breeders release exciting new varieties, so there is always something different to try. However, for many gardeners it’s hard to beat the enduring appeal of the classics such as ‘Bishop of Llandaff’, with its dark stems and foliage and scarlet flowers, or the flame-coloured ‘Jescot Julie’, and ‘Hillcrest Royal’, which has magenta-pink and purple flowers.

Flower sizes range from dinner plates to dainty golf balls, in a dizzying array of shapes: insect-friendly single blooms; anemone, water lily, single orchid and cactus types; balls and pompoms.

And they combine this endless variety with ease of growing and great value. In late summer, when many other blooms in the garden are starting to fade, they are still going strong – and generously continue to do so until the first frosts. Then, when the cold hits, in most parts of the UK they will often go on to lie dormant in the soil, coping with all but the lowest of temperatures, ready to reemerge the following year.