(and our FIRST ever giveaway)
ahhhhh…the dahliaaaaaahhh, I swoon for this bloom. If you have a 2010 Snow & Graham Wall or Desk calendar then it is time to turn the page to March and enjoy this featured floral. I cannot help myself but stop and marvel when they are blossoming in neighboring gardens or available at the farmers market in late summer.
I think it is in part because they are so varied in their many forms and most of the time you’ll find them in my favorite floral shades of pink, coral, red, orange, blush, “black” or creamy white. Dahlias can be soft and drapey but you’ll also find pom pom varieties that have a rigid spherical structure. All of these qualities inspired our graphic interpretation of this awesome blossom. Certainly they are romantic and they have drama, but then they can be so demure. Just one of the voluminous Dinner Plate variety is a flower arrangement all on its own.
Dahlia Tidbits:
+ According to the Japanese Language of Flowers the dahlia symbolizes “good taste”
+ The dahlia is the national flower of Mexico
+ They can measure as small as 2 inches and up to 1 foot in diameter
+ Christopher Columbus returned to Italy with, among other things, dahlia tubers
+ Named after Swedish 18th-century botanist Anders Dahl
+ To dream of dahlias is a sign of good fortune
+ Ancient Aztecs used dahlia tubers as a treatment for epilepsy
now for that giveaway….
Each year in March we are hard at work on the calendar for the following year. As we have been working on our 2011 Calendar Collection the studio is full of opinions and suggestions. Everyone takes a vested interest in which design will be featured on their birthday month. If I were to celebrate my half birthday, then I would be quite pleased to celebrate with Dahlia. Would you? What image would you like to see on your birthday month? Leave a comment to this post with your name and check back on March 15th. We’ll draw a name and send out a bundle of Dahlia cards to the lucky winner.
**thank you for all of the wonderful comments – for a 2011 Calendar sneak peek and the winner click here**
Image credits to Christina Wressell, Saupia
Tags: calendar, design inspiration, flowers, giveaway
Wouldn’t cosmos be beautiful for October?
Peonies for May! Never realized how beautiful dahlias are…. A new favorite!
February — snowdrops!
How about a beautiful Christmas Cactus for December? Could be a beautiful and simple graphic and color scheme.
your interpretation of dahlias is so beautiful. i would love to see what you would do with orchids in may.
my birthday is in November, I would love to see hydrangeas!!
ps. my anniversary is in March and I love the Dahlia
Pansies or sunflowers in September!
would love lots of ruby red petunias cascading from a beautiful old urn for my july birthday.
I’ll go with my half birthday in June and say Gerbera Daisies. They are a favorite, but the Dahlias are so beautiful.
Oooh Orchids would be wonderful…esp the lime and fushia…
White anemone flowers with red berries for December
Nothing but delicate Alliums for August, please.
December would be beautiful with birches and cardinals.
Or snowflakes and cardinals.
August 4
I would love to see the bright colors of zinnias.
Dahlias for June….or cosmos, or delphinium, or gerbera daisies….all so lovely!
definitely peonies for june!
Amaryllis for December would be glorious!
I always think of dahlias as a fall/September flower but your March ones perk up a dull(weather) month!
Years ago I planted one red dahlia. It was splendid and none since have compared. I like the memory of it…..and all the other times, sunflowers please.
ooohhh…black and white anemones are my favorite! They are so sophisticated and modern…Perfect for December!
I LOVE dahlias and I adore the Snow & Graham interpretation for this year’s calendar! I especially enjoy the more structural dahlia varieties – I like to think of them as nature’s geometry!
I have to second the vote for orchids in may! Perhaps an elegant, white phalaenopsis against a colorful, spring background?
P.S. The Christmas Cactus for December sounds exciting!
I loved the birds for January (my birthday month) this year. A beautiful purple aster might be festive for next January. Yea for Capricorns!
I think seenig peonies would be beautiful.
I would love to see rhododendron blossoms in my birthday calendar month of May. Your designs are just beautiful.
I’m a March baby and I was SO PLEASED to find my favorite flower as this month’s inspiration! I would’ve been equally happy with peonies – they’re just so lush.
[...] check out Snow & Graham’s contest, running through March 15th, to win some free S&G swag! This entry was posted in et cetera, [...]
A simple beautiful orchid is all I would want for my November birthday month.
my birthday is in june. my favorite flowers are hydrangeas. second i would go with either calla lillies or orchids but i think those are both spring flowers. regardless the calendar designs are so lovely i am sure i’d love any flower choice.
For September, I’d say kaffir lilies.
P.S.: Love, love, love the spirographic treatment for the dahlias. Gorgeous.
Even though my birthday is in August, I love ranunculus!
Your dahlias are truly beautiful! My favorite flower is the sweet pea-maybe you can create designs using this? Love your work and used your mittens wrap and coffee mug wrapping paper on gifts all through the winter! Cheers to spring, C2
I am so jealous of all the people who have the 2010 S&G calendar! It was completely sold out before I was able to get mine this year. The notecards are lovely but the oversize calendar is a work of art in my kitchen each year.
After reading this post about Dahlias, nothing else will now for my September birthday! I love the soft and drapey ones, pleeeease!
I love this month’s calendar! I was sad to turn the page on Feb, but this is beautiful! Thanks!
March is my birth month and I couldn’t be happier with the red Dahlias on the calendar! Red is my favorite color too! So, it’s a match made in heaven. Please don’t change it next year. I love it!
I also have a June birthday and smiled when I read Jamie Perkins post saying hydrangeas were her favorites because they are my favorites also! But, alas, for my birthday month I’d love to see old fashioned roses in bloom.
I have the wall calendar, and I seriously gasped when I turned the page to March- I LOVE the dahlias. I always try to wait and not peek at the next month’s artwork, so I can be surprised! Love your work!
I absolutely love your take on the dahlias. Another shining example of your fountain of creativity. I look forward to this calendar every year!
While chrysanthemums are the traditional flower of November, who cares about tradition?!??! I would pay top dollar for a calendar full of beautiful poppies!!! They’re so billowy and colorful! Poppies year-round!!!
Oh How I wish your calendar was not sold out! December is my birthday and I would choose peonies, especially tree peonies. They are exquisite and in size. I love how they open in the day and gently close their petals at night.
How about almond-blossom for February?
I just bought the calendar as a gift and I’m so excited to give it!
As a November girl I love chrysanthemums, they don’t have to white, maybe some of the beautiful warm hues of the fall to warm the page.
Gardenias would be great for January! And they smell so good too.
[...] thank you enough for all the wonderful comments and suggestions that were made in response to the March Muse post. Your comments read like a walk through my dream garden; lots of old fashioned favorites with [...]
I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article. I am hoping the same best work from you in the future as well and i have start my own blog now, it’s about wedding flower arrangement| , thanks for your effort