What does it take to win a Dahlia Blue Ribbon at the State Fair?

Today was the 2nd year that I served as a clerk for the MN Dahlia Society judging at the MN State Fair. Many of you know that for years I have judged marching band and drum corps. This is just as meticulous with a LOT of criteria before any of the ribbons and medals are handed out. I thought I would give you the basic 101 of what it takes.

For starters, it begins much earlier than the end of August. Anyone entering needs to count back the weeks before the date and tinker with Mother Nature as much as possible. There is debudding and pinching as well as deadheading, hoping to guide your favorite blooms to serving up that perfect flower on the exact date for entry and praying the the elements work in your favor. A rough storm, a heat stretch or insects can change intentions easily. Most of the seasoned gardeners load up a few big buckets and bring whatever looks reasonable and make choices right at the fairgrounds.

The staging room opens on the grounds the night before. Some of the gardeners travel and spend the night in the Metro working most of the night. Trimming back stems, wedging in foam or arranging multiples depending on which categories they are entering. It becomes kind of like a party for those assembling the floats for the Rose Parade the night before. 

Classes and varieties: The Dahlia Association recognizes 15 distinct color blends from whites, to blush, through the rainbow to bi-color mixes. Forms are vast from little pom poms and micros, to ball, to formal & informal decorative, anemones, collarettes, waterlilies..... so many options to grow. And it is not comparing apples to oranges. Each one gets its own division in the competition. And then sorted by size with AA being the large dinner plates and single B being a common 4-8 inch bloom. When you multiply ALL these options out - there are hundreds of ribbons to be handed out over the two showrooms in the horticulture building.

 

The judging begins at 8 AM on show day. All entries must be placed on the table with tags by this point. We have a sizable pool of very well trained judges and several still in training. They are separated in pods of 3-4 judges per group and given a clerk - which I take on. My job is to record all decisions, note the 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners; the name of the grower and the hybrid variety that takes 1st in each of the categories. In order for a new breed to become a recognized in the annual catalogue, it needs at least 5 1st place ribbons in major shows throughout the country. So our efforts here do impact the national market based on rating! The judging panels go group by group and are looking at several elements trying to balance them all and determine which best fits the criteria. Is it true to the form and shape - petals formed, center not blown, arc, balanced on the main stem. They check coloration and make sure it is fully arrived - not too early and pale or late and faded. They want a strong stem with 2 pair of leaflets on each stem. No actual points are given, but there needs to be a consensus from the panel before placement is given. I can vouch that each year creates some serious discussion and unity is not always easy deliberation.

I will also vouch that a 1st place is not guaranteed. I would say that half of my divisions today did not earn ANY blue ribbons. Sometimes just a placement of 2nd or 3rd. And in some cases none at all were awarded. They Dahlia Society feels a standard needs to be upheld and if flowers do not merit a winner, there is no consolation prize just for showing up. It sounds harsh, but there is a standard. There is also a Court of Honor, which is the best of the best. In each of the 15 color divisions for each class, the judges look back at all the 1st places and determine if any are worthy of Best in Show and those are pulled with a HUGE purple ribbon and staged on the grand stairs at the back of the showroom.

I have noted to many of my gardener friends that this has been a brutal MN summer for all of us working the soil. The dry hot and humid temps have made for late blooming, small buds, weak stems and wonky coloration in all flowers. So it was not a surprise that the entries this year paled. Even the advanced growers just did not have all the inventory they had hoped. Several, especially the large dinner-plate dahlias, had divisions with nothing submitted and made for tables that were more sparse than in the past. My 3 patches are not even where they were last July at this point and I am hoping for 50% of my plants to still bloom among those that gave up and just wilted early in the season. 

 On top of all this judging, we have also expanded to feature dahlia photography. Each season has a theme for arrangements which must feature dahlias and other floral components. This year was Road Trip. And since hybrid work is such a trend, there is a small division for seedlings that are in training under three years for new varieties. There is a lot of knowledge behind what beauty you see on display in the Horticulture Building. If you really love the dahlias, the MN Dahlia Society hosts our own show later in the season at Bachmans Sept 19-20. It should feature many lovely blooms as the season cools and relaxes a bit. And if you want to get really excited, Minnesota will be hosting the National Dahlia show in 2028. It will be the 100th anniversary of our local chapter and planning is underway where you will see the whole process play out in grand scale.

Northern Lights in a Lily Field

I spend a lot of my summer garden days with the focus on my Dahlias. I know them well, but there is still a lot more to learn. One big trend for advanced gardeners right now is creating your own hybrids of plants. Dahlias, Zinnias and many other cut flowers cross pollinate - which is both great and complicated. While bees do their work, they take genetic material in pollen from one to another plant. Just like in humans - this opens up the door for endless possibilities of new hybrids that can bring traits of any flowers in that species. I am not sure people realize the effort it takes to keep the true traits of flowers that you purchase in every seed packet you plant. It means those zinnias have had to remain isolated to stay pure to their variety. The flip side of this, is that next season you can plant those cross-pollinated seeds you kept and find many variations of new zinnias.

Getting the first blooms is the fun part as they reveal what traits they brought from both or multiple parents. But when you find that single special one that jumps out at you - how do you preserve it? With dahlias it takes at least 3-4 years to go from that original seedling to something that has been genetically grounded and released into the commercial world. For starters, you need a lot of real estate to spread out these plants upon plants with enough room to grow. It involves controlling the pollinators - whether bees or flies. And then being able to cap off each individual bloom in cloth bags that allow sun and air into the bloom for the duration of the season until they move on to seeds for the following year. I am thinking you can grasp the scope of the hybrid process...

Which brings me to Northern Lights Daylilies. They were new to me this season. I was tipped off by some garden mates who took me to their page. They are located in West Concord MN which is a teeny town down south on the back roads into Rochester. But what a pretty farm they have. Kathleen and Mike couldn't be warmer hosts who were glad to share many stories of their breeding. Their main emphasis is on creating new varieties and from what I can tell, they sell only via internet sales. They don't seem to be connected to any local garden centers as middlemen. From the website, they are certainly high-end with small batches of collector's items that can get as pricey with a $150 tag on them. Past releases are in the $15-$20 range. It also seems like a garden club where registered shoppers get access to the new varieties for the next season before they go on sale to general public - which accounts for the high prices.

But my experience with them was on the one weekend in late July where they open a single field to the general public. As I noted at the very beginning; you let the bees do their work and see what treasures you have the next season in new seedlings. Since the lilies are a perennial, those roots will continue the same stock going forward. They have 3-4 long plots where they allow them to stabilize and regenerate over a period of years. Each year they rotate a single plot. After monitoring and cataloguing traits over a 3 year period, they pull the handful of special varieties that they feel are ready to be introduced and then take on the task of regenerating them from root stock into enough viable plants that they are able to sell as a new named Lily. You can see why they have that high pricing for the first few years until they can build a large enough offspring to meet demand.

For the general public on that last weekend, they open what is left of the plot for eager gardeners to come and grab whatever plants remain at a pittance of $6 a clump. And they are big hearty clumps that have been nurtured for years! For whatever reason; the color was not brilliant enough/ they may not have been as resilient to MN winters/ stems were not sturdy enough. On the Friday morning I drove down, there were around 15 cars parked on the side of the gravel road and avid gardeners with their pitch forks going down the aisles of blooms to see what jumped out at us.

I feel like my garden has so many oranges and golds as well as blues I am drawn to. So I found a few in different shades. One is a deep tomato red with a brilliant yellow core and bright yellow frilly edges. Looking at their website, I am thinking it was from the family called Christmas Morning that must have had some shortcomings. But they are big blooms on very tall stems. I also found a stunning plum pink with a lot of texture that must have been from the Apple Candy breeds. And then a simple, short ruffled banana yellow that was more plain but somehow spoke to me. I am aware that they had a brutal few hot days of road travel until they made it home and then went into the ground during another of our hot spells in MN. But each of them managed to hold buds and all have a few remaining flowers blooming. So I have full confidence they will be massive come 2027. But what fun to know I have 3 unique, beautiful types of daylilies in my plot called NL#1, NL#2 and NL#3 to add to my plant data base. Anyone looking for a garden field trip next summer should check out the farm. 

Northern Lights Daylilies 

Champagne Elegance - Iris feature

 Before I get into the Dahlias and the Seeds of the season I will offer up a handful of other stories.

If you are not familiar with Iris borer, it can be a common ailment in MN iris. They are a moth larvae that is specific to the iris family. They start as eggs in the tall fronds mid summer and appear as tiny burn spots. As heat and humidity rise, they burrow from the leaves all the way down into the rhizome as they get larger and need more substance to feed off. They overwinter and emerge as a cutworm the next year and moths hatch around now while the cycle repeats. I have dealt with them a few times over the decades.

I somehow missed the cue in 2024, so last year I had a miserable summer with greens but not a single iris bloom. A treatment is to wait until cool temps in the fall. Then dig up what is left of healthy roots, toss away the rot (which is a true stench in iris) and then soak the rhizomes in a bleach/ water mix to kill off any remaining eggs or larvae. It was cumbersome with around 12 varieties in multiple spots. But if you do not hit every one, it is an epidemic that will come back to haunt. I chose the right time to get them back in the dirt with a month left that most showed new shoots before the frost came.

Cut to 2026. All are healthy and have come back from the breech. Smaller clumps and some smaller blooms. But they are all bright and vibrant. This one is a favorite I got years back with really dynamic contrast between the Ivory face and an almost champagne outer round of petals. Thought it was worth a share and a story.

 

I was this many years old when I.....

Do you know what a Petchoa is? Neither did I until this last week. I have grown especially fond of Petunias over the last few years as their colors and varieties continue to get more and more vivid. I am now finding out that many of these are a cross between the smaller Calibrachoa (commonly known as Million Bells) and Petunias.

Sunset Orange

These hybrids first came to the market in 2013 and were patented by a nursery in California with the series were named Calitunias. Although others have bought into the trend, the buzz word for them are now called Super Cals at many garden centers and they are lined up right beside their sister Petunia plants.

They are said to bring out the best traits of both flowers. They tend to trail more than a standard Petunia and fill out baskets better. They also lack much of the fuzzy nature of Petunias and like the Million Bell, do not need to be dead headed to perpetuate more growth. They are also able to withstand both ends of the temperature spectrum better, cool temps in Fall & Spring and the hot spells of midsummer. Because they do not seed, they also have a longer growing season by not bearing. (I have never understood this botanical phenomenon - if they don't seed, how do we get more plants the next season?)

Sunray Pink

But for me, the biggest selling point is the bump in color. By nature, the Calibrachoas have always been brighter and in a wider color spectrum. The flowers themselves are around the same size as the Petunia but with prettier, scalloped edges. This has brought in trends of Golds, Rust and even Browns that just did not exist before. In planters, one of my favorite pairings are the addition to bight Coleus leaves besides these blooms. Add in a patio Dahlia and some tall Salvia and that is all you need. The next time you are in your Garden Center, do a side-by-side comparison and tell me what you think?

Coral Star

Red Maple

A Calling to be a Gardener

I have done several featured posts on Floret Farms out in Washington state. Erin and Chris Benzakein are the purest essence of what a flower farm should be. To visit their estate out West would be a pilgrimage for me. The beauty of what they have brought to their acreage is astounding as I have followed them over the last 4 years. But their real truth is what they offer to the community - it is boundless. From their seeds and hybridizing endless varieties of new species. Their incredible abundance of training and mini courses have been essential to me as I continue to learn about seeds, dahlia tubers, and flower care. Their partnerships and community they have nurtured; not just locally but with important cohorts around the world to save endangered plant species. There is always a shout out for the great work someone else is doing. I am buying books from recommended farmers to support them and educate myself. Floret is a gift that keeps on giving to the Flower world.

 

In the past year they have been expanding their YouTube Channel into documentary work. Last year was a shattering short Gardening in A War Zone that told a haunting story of a small gardener there Alla Olkhovska, who relies on a small plot of land in bombed area of Ukraine to sustain her very poor family. It is heartbreaking to see her harvest the smallest of seed packets and mail them out to feed her ailing elders. I have to assume that the film gave her some assistance that was severely needed as well as telling a compelling story.

Just released this week is a 3-part docu- series The Beautiful Pursuit. I was in tears watching the first episode Called by Flowers. Again, it is not about Erin, but it is a scrapbook of notable gardeners around the world sharing different versions of a shared story. How a simple garden plot, sometimes created out of accident, has transformed lives by the cycle of life the flowers bring year to year. Some are therapeutic, others are based in community, others bring simple joys that ripple. If you are one of my dear circle that relish this time of year, the possibility of renewal in Spring, this film will bring a guttural response more than any Oscar winning film will. It is like watching 30 minutes of flower overload with stunning visuals and colors that we all set out to achieve in our own spaces. We all have our stories of the serenity that our hands in the dirt bring us. There are obstacles and disappointments, always. But in these turbulent time (speaking for myself at least) there is magic in those small seeds and the tiny green shoots emerging. As the film states "Flowers are Hope, Flowers are Humanity."

 

 

Picking Apples

Apples are a staple of Fall baking and no doubt some of you are throwing an apple pie or crumble in the oven for Thanksgiving. So many varieties to choose from. The horrible Delicious Apple that was in our school lunch box. The envied Honeycrisp from right here in Minnesota. I look forward to hitting a local orchard every season to celebrate the fruit. (A shout out to my personal favorite Pleasant Valley in Scandia MN.)

I have found a resource for you of All-Things-Appples. It is called Apple Rankings and is the brain child of a Brian Frange. No surprise that he is both a comedian and writer as well by trade. His website is a simple but worthy dive into everything you could want to know about rating said apples. 

 "Selectively bred to snap like a sweet piece of celery, this apple, available only in September and October (if we’re lucky) in certain super markets is the best apple ever to grace the world of Gods and men." 

"A middling sweet-tart taste and ordinary crunch is double majored with granular apple meat and electrical tape skin." 

"The perfect blend of sweet and tart, this fiery bitch is a headliner at supermarkets worldwide. Not as snappy as you’d like, and dense enough to hammer a nail, this unflappable cart-stopper is a true trailblazer as the first apple name to be awarded a trademark."

He is not one to mince words with strong opinions all around. I'll leave you to solve which varieties these quotes apply to. The site is easy to search in alpha order. The Apple page then notes the 3 Key Flavor options in the profile; Sweetness, Tartness, Intensity. As well as ratings on 9 other attributes from Cost to Skin & Density. So if you know what sort of pome hits your taste buds, the profiles should zero you in on a few matches guaranteed to please. There are great photos and usually a borrowed YouTube video highlighting the breed. Plenty of color codes. And most fascinating - comparisons: "Eat these apples instead..." That is not to say that many of the comments are not worth reading as well. It is obvious that many take their favorites seriously and eagerly defend the harsh remarks Brian utters! I love the box scores that go from Despicable to Nearly Perfect. None get a perfect one hundred. 

 

I am great with the Top 3 which includes a rare Kanzi imported from the Netherlands. I was lucky enough to stumble onto it in a Farmer's Market in Brooklyn and it has stayed with me some 10 years hence. I am on the lookout for them always, but they have not made it to the Midwest at this point. So I am fine with my 2nd choices of Honeycrisp and SweeTango. Check him out.

 Apple Rankings website.

Fashion Designs in 3-D with actual Flowers

Now that we are past the holiday rush and in for the long winter hibernation, what ways can we keep the art of the garden alive while inside? It is still too early for Spring seed plantings (although I am certainly in the planning stages.) In Minneapolis we have the Conservatory with its upcoming winter sunken garden show. It is a great January escape under a night sky with live music if you are wanting to join me. If you are past the fix for baking or movies & jigsaws are just too sedimentary .....

How about the world where Floral meets Fashion. I see a handful of friends doing the painting night out with wine. But how about pairing those creative instincts with fresh flowers and bright colors? I was inspired by an article in My Modern Met which features a Singapore based artist named Grace Ciao. Simply put, she combines couture sketches with textures of real flowers and vines. Imagine Barbie in Rose Petals and you get the drift. I can tell by viewing her work that color is the point of entry. But shape and dimension come a close second.

Obviously, she has a great sense of drawing skills. But it is her whimsy that commands your attention. I am curious which comes first - the floral or the apparel in the sketch? There are plenty of Roses. But who could have imagined what she does with a pair of Calla Lilies as Gaucho pants! Or how about layers of pink and lavender Alstroemerias? She uses a simple Parrot Tulip to create a tuille ballet tutu. Of course, a summer skirt of Sunflower petals. She calls the drawings Bloom Belles and now even has classes where others can create their own under her guidance. 

I find them all amazing. It is no wonder that she lists clients as Fendi, Chanel & Christian Dior. Her watercolor skills are lovely on their own and she also ventures into pattern designs for wallpaper and stationery. Here are only a handful to share. Visit her Insta page to see more of her incredible work.

Grace Ciao: Instagram