Thank goodness for Halls Of Heddon – we’re a small but perfectly formed canalside cutting garden here as you know, and IMHO there’s always something that you could be doing when the hours run out – and I haven’t got the time machine mastered just yet.

But that’s almost not the point – the point being to feel the sun, to get excited about the buds appearing on what ostensibly looks like a dead tuber.

And to be joyful when the rooted cutting arrive in environmentally friendly packaging from the brilliant dahlia growers in Northumberland.

So the varieties I love are:

Black Jack, Ivor’s Rhonda – well, how could a Welsh girl not choose that one! Rosemary’s dawn and Small World.

I am also potting up Waltzing Maltilda and Totally Tangerine – the insects will love the pollen of the open dahlia flowers, so we have flowers for cutting and flowers for nature too – in truth, I find it hard to cut them when the bees are having such a lovely moment with them, but I digress, we will be cutting flowers!

P.S. If you want some tips on how to best use your dahlias to extend your flower season have a peek at my YouTube video on this topic.