I worked up the energy to dig up a couple of the dahlias and this is what I ended up with. This is two separate wads that I put into one pile. If you’re not familiar with dahlias — these are huge. I can’t remember the last time I dug them. Five years?

This particular dahlia is a plain red one and insanely prolific. You can whack this up any which way and whatever you throw in the ground will probably grow into a flower. This was my gateway dahlia, passed on by a friend. Then I got my first catalog.

The friend has since moved a couple of times and when she heard I dug bulbs she asked me to bring her some.