August 16, 2014…This anemone dahlia serves as a rest stop.
Looking over Kathy’s dahlias at some of the 2500 kinds that must be whittled down to 100.
Kathy grows dahlias…lots of them. Knowing of my interest in bees, she has explained how bees have helped her to grow different kinds of dahlias. For many years, she hand pollinated the dahlias she wanted to hybridize. About a year and a half ago, a swarm of bees chose a nearby cedar tree as their future home and started visiting her dahlias. Kathy says she gets much better results from the bees’ pollination. She collected the seeds after pollination and grew over 2500 kinds. Of the 2500, she will select only about 100 that make the grade. (I’m glad I don’t have to decide, I like them all.)
This is one of 2500 varieties that Kathy grew this year. She must whittle it down to about “100 keepers.”
This is known as a giraffe pattern dahlia. Kathy says she is indebted to the bees for their pollination services. I am intrigued by the variety of styles.
An orchid form dahlia
August 16, 2014…Since the bees adopted this high up cavity in a cedar tree, Kathy has benefited from them pollinating her dahlias. In the video you can see how high up it is with a steady stream of bees flying in and out.
Is this a keeper or will it go into the compost? Kathy hasn’t decided yet, but she does like what she sees. It started opening up yesterday and will look different tomorrow, “it’s promising,” she says.
Kathy says she is indebted to the bees for making this one which she is planning to keep.
Sunspot…a mignon dahlia creation that Kathy has let us grow for our bees.
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 
What beautiful dahlias! I usually like simpler flowers and prefer single to doubles but these are gorgeous. I have never seen dahlias like these. I love the orchids and orchidettes which surprises me as I usually don’t like the “fancy” variations. I have simple dahlias in the garden but I love them and so do the bees and they do very well over here. Amelia
It was a real eye opener for me to see such a range of styles. I guess I’ve always pictured dahlias as the big round pom pom flowers. I never knew there were small ones too.
Kathy – what state are you in and do to sell you tubers ??? You have a great collection. I am jelous. Thanks for the sharing your work and love with us.
Drew Madzin Freehold NJ.
Kathy’s web site is http://www.blossomgulch.com/ Thanks for asking. It’s just amazing the number of kinds there are. She was so nice to let my wife and I visit her place. I’m interested from a beekeeper’s point of view, to see what flowers the bees might be visiting.
I forgot to answer your question…we are on the Southern Oregon Coast and yes, she does sell tubers.
Are we certain that the frog is not a pollinator? 8)
Uh no. Do you have any insights on that? (I hope the frog doesn’t eat bees) 😦
Our remark was meant in jest but http://www.nativebeeconservancy.org/girl-scouts-2/girl-scouts/ says that frogs “can cause pollination to happen”. More googling indicates that frogs can and sometimes do eat bees. Not sure what to think of the one in the picture. 8(
I haven’t seen dahlias IRL; they’re really beautiful! And I really loved the pictures!
I guess I don’t know if dahlias grow in the desert area. I don’t remember them as a kid growing up in Phoenix, but then I wasn’t really interested in flowers (except the human kind, one of whom I was lucky enough to marry about 44 years ago)
Pat,
Thank you so much the amazing video! The bee part is my favorite. Knowing they are here is really special for us and being able to see them up close in their home is truly wonderful! No trip through our garden is ever complete without stopping to watch the bees and to imagine what new dahlia might appear in the next batch of seedlings.
Thanks for giving us a tour of your beautiful garden. We enjoyed seeing the bees too. This is “natural beekeeping” in the truest sense. You are helping them by providing nectar and pollen sources and they are helping you to create new dahlias. A win-win!