The Last of the Dahlias and Raspberries - Finally, Farewell to Summer

Isnt' it great to wear boots and scarves again, and not have to water the garden every day? There are compensations to our long, lovely summer finally ending, and we need to muster them all to say goodbye to summer's greatest pleasures....like dahlias and raspberries.

I don't grow these big, blowsy showgirls of the dahlia world, but couldn't resist buying one of the glorious  bunches my neighbor set out on a little cart along the street ($6 a bunch). The raspberries are from my garden...they've grown smaller as the nights cooled, and are unbelievably sweet...as if all the nectar of summer's late golden sunshine is concentrated in these last berries of the year.

Here's my neighbor's field of dahlias on a morning in early October...

A big bunch like this, with all the colors and textures, almost hurts my eyes...I like mixed dahlias better from a distance or up so close they almost become abstracts..

 

Comments

[Sara Chapman in Seattle USA]

Oh, I like very much. A friend of mine is growing raspberries too and I can't believe how sweet they are. Nice photos, Val!

[Christina Wilsdon]

I fell in love with dahlias this year--so cheerful--haven't grown any yet though. Just enjoying those grown by neighbors so far. My p-patch however was still pumping out alpine strawberries and a few raspberries as of last week, and a pink geranium suddenly popped up among the red ones in the pot on the front steps...meanwhile the birch is losing its leaves, so the garden is a funny muddle of spring and fall. I am sad to be saying good-bye to the sun and warmth but you're right, it is nice to not feel guilty in the evening about wasting precious daylight and sunshine and instead plopping myself into a comfy chair with a good book.

[Lauren Hall-Behrens]

Beautiful!

[Chris]

Wow, those are some eye popping pinks for sure!! It seems they are about the last flowers to still be in bloom right now!! I made a fall bouquet today for a local restaurant and most of it was foliage with a few orange dahlias popped in for color!
Rasberries in October?? How lucky are you? :)