Glad your cold is better. You'll be able to get out there soon.

Dahlias love the heat, but they must have the obligatory inch of water per week to do well. They also require that you stay on top of deadheading. I bought most of mine when I was selling cut flowers at the farmers market, so they are all quite tall and keeping them supported as the season went on was a major task. (I did try some of the very short varieties like Figaro as garden plants, but they seem to be very desease prone.) I have 30 to 35 varieties, and something like 50 plants.

Our water rates are extremely high, my garden is very large for one person to maintain, and I simply have to transition to lower maintenance and drought tolerant plants. But it is killing me to take them out. There is no other perennial that puts on such a gorgeous show for such a long season. (Here in zone 7 my earlier ones start blooming late June and the show goes on until frost, although they slow down blooming as the days shorten in early October.) Dahlias come in so many different shapes, sizes, colors and types of blooms that I can never get tired of them. I will keep a few absolute favorites that I just can't bear to part with.

The daffs, tulips and wood hyacinths are all still going strong. When they fade out in a few weeks, there will be a long spell where the pansies in pots will be about all that is in bloom. Then, in early May, the roses, peonies, poppies, hesperis and ox-eye daisies will start their show. Mid to late May the coreopsis, larkspur, veronica and yarrow will begin to bloom. I don't know what to expect from the bleeding hearts this year. They started blooming right after emergence when not even a couple of inches tall. They usually bloom in April and May. I don't know if they will bloom again or not. They are so short I can't tell bloom stems from unfurled leaves.

Janie