Today we went for a walk by a lake, it was a beautiful Fall day, warm with dotted white clouds in the sky. The air was slightly crisp but the warmth of the sun on us felt lovely. It was the perfect day for walking. Around the lake, red and yellow wildflowers grew in abundance with fuzzy bumble bees and butterflies stopping to feast on their nectar. My son and I picked some wildflowers to bring home and I photographed them.
The flowers were Gaillardias, both the Arizona Sun and Fanfare variety in shades of red, oranges and yellow. They looked so pretty scattered around the lake, adding spicy color to the green Fall foliage.
My absolute favorite time of the year is the Fall. I love when the leaves start to turn, here in Westchester New York (Larchmont!) the colors are gorgeous. October has to be my favorite month. It’s also prime Dahlia season. Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America, they have gained in popularity here and growers such as my favorite Treadlight Farm, who sell in NYC and my local farmer’s market have so many gorgeous varieties.
Dahlias can be both in the Pom Pom variety or the variety with the long curled petals. These aren’t actually petals but their own floret, or basically flower! Some Dahlias can be the size of dinner plates! As a member of the Asteraceae, the dahlia has a flower head that is actually a composite (hence the older name Compositae) with both central disc florets and surrounding ray florets. Each floret is a flower in its own right, but is often incorrectly described as a petal, particularly by horticulturists. The modern name Asteraceae refers to the appearance of a star with surrounding rays.
I buy 90 percent of my flowers from Treadlight Farm, I love supporting small businesses and they are truly passionate about the varieties they grow, and really their flowers are all so unique and beautiful. They have everything when in season from sweet peas, to poppies to their dahlias.
Check out the video below which shows more about this wonderful farm!
BLOOM 