WRITTEN BY VALERIE EASTON

	The white semi-cactus 'Kenora Jubilee' was chosen Dahlia of the Year by the Federation of Northwest Dahlia Growers. Bred by Gordon Leroux of Everett, this winner was named after his hometown of Kenora in Ontario, Canada.

The mass display of these pampered and brazen flowers will be a rare and delicious sight, and the public is invited. Each of the 6,000 to 8,000 dahlias on show is grown to perfection by gardeners who will be on hand to share tips. Since we live in a hotbed of dahlia hybridizing second only to England, you can be sure that many new and exciting types of dahlias will festoon the judging tables. This will be the place to admire dahlias as small as a quarter, as big as a dinner plate, and to discover secret sources for the latest varieties.

Even among the thousands of lovingly grown flowers, there will be clear standouts. A yellow semi-cactus called 'Hamari Accord' has been sweeping the "best-in-show" category lately, and the big, white 'Kenora Jubilee' was awarded the federation's 2004 Dahlia of the Year designation. Art Chmura, chair of this year's show, grows 800 dahlias with the help of his wife, half in their own garden and 400 more in a Kent P-patch. He suggests searching out the new star-shaped type called "stellars" and the variegated or bicolored dahlias. Chmura admires locally bred 'Skipley's Spot,' which is red with white tips on each petal. His favorite is 'Jennie,' which is creamy white outlined in lavender. Something new to watch for are laciniated dahlias, whose split-end petals make them look as fringed as hippie shoulder bags.

What do all these cosseted show ponies have to do with actually growing dahlias in your own garden? "I've made a number of trips to New Zealand," says Lester Connell, who grows 2,500 dahlias and founded Connell's Dahlias in Tacoma, "and you won't find a garden over there without dahlias."

After neglecting and perhaps even turning their noses up at dahlias for years, gardeners here are coming back to them in droves. Nancy Heckler grows plenty in pots, in the garden and in her vegetable plot at her Oyster Point gardens near Poulsbo. She recommends 'Fascination' for its long-lasting, lilac-pink flowers set against dark foliage. She loves 'Yellow Hammer,' a canary-colored single with near-black leaves, and the gold and russet 'Moonfire.' This trio of dark-foliaged beauties tops off at about 2½ feet, so they can do without staking. Such low-growing dahlias don't swallow up a container, and integrate well with other plantings in beds and borders.

This year's show will be at the Hilton Seattle Airport and Conference Center Aug. 26-29; the theme is "Northwest Treasures." Along with more dahlias than you've ever seen assembled in one place, the show will include a photography contest so fanciers from afar can enter their finest flowers if only in two dimensions.

If you'd like to try your hand at arranging dahlias for competition, some of those 800 flowers Art Chmura is raising will be ready and waiting to be combined in vases. The public can drop in to see the displays without charge, or register for the conference, which includes speakers from around the world and tours of the area's finest dahlia gardens. For more information or to register, see www.2004show.com. To learn more about dahlias, check out the Web site www.dahlia.org; local growers with fine selections include Swan Island Dahlias in Canby, Ore. (503-266-7711; www.swanislanddahlias.com) and Connell's Dahlias in Tacoma (253-531-0292; www.connells-dahlias.com).
 

Now In Bloom Abutilons are confusingly called flowering maples for their lobe-shaped leaves, but really they're flashy annuals that grow into shrubs in warm-winter years. Related to the familiar Chinese lanterns, abutilon hybrids have variegated leaves and drip with sweet-faced flowers in shades from cream to apricot to red. A. x hybridum 'Cannington Skies' (above) is one of the showiest abutilons despite its dwarf size, with yellow-checkered leaves and red-orange flowers. The bloom of 'Canary Bird' is a clear, bright yellow, and 'Moonchimes' is a compact version with flowers in pale lemon.

Valerie Easton is a Seattle free-lance writer and contributing editor for Horticulture magazine. Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net.

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