I usually only use one pic for the ‘The Story Behind’ posts. But when there are 200+ Dahlia pics to choose from, it really is hard to stop at just one! So this has to be one of the few times a Facebook sponsored ad actually worked. We were on vacation in Rhododendron, Oregon, in the most gorgeous AirBnB wooded cabin. (Unfortunately it doesn’t appear to be for rent anymore otherwise I’d share a link.)
Anyhow, I digress. As we were exploring things to do in the area, up popped an ad for Swan Island Dahlias. They were promoting the annual Dahlia festival which fell a couple of weeks after we returned home. Nevertheless, I discovered that you could drive to the farm (less than an hour away), wander around, enjoy fields and fields of Dahlias and, as an added bonus, it was all free. Needless to say hubby and daughter declined that trip. Not only had they had enough time traveling the two previous days, the thought of me with a camera in fields and fields of flowers was terrifying.
The Flowers
The flowers were absolutely incredible. I really did have an amazing time. Per their website “We hybridize our own new varieties, planting over 15,000 seedlings each year. From those original seedlings, it takes about 4 to 5 years to introduce a new seedling for sale. Each season we introduce anywhere from 5 to 15 new varieties which are featured in our catalog and at our farm. We grow over 370 varieties on almost 40 acres…” And there I was with a camera in hand and 90 minutes to myself! Every size and shape imaginable were present. A riot of colour as far as the eye could see. I was in floral heaven!
They do have all the variety names on their website, but my titles might not match (except Shaggy Chic). I left with the most gorgeous cut bunch of the Fiery Fiesta (the feature image on the page). How could I resist? They were $10! (I would have paid minimum $35 here!) They traveled with us to our next Oregon stop and lasted the full 12 days of the rest of the vacation.
FOR MORE INFO…
All my images are available for purchase. Find this one is on the Fine Art page of my website in the Fab Flora & Greenery Gallery. Head on over there anyway if you want a page that will brighten any smoke-filled hazy grey day!
