Happy New Year! This year due to the COVID restrictions, we were not able to visit many of our relatives. Therefore, we decided to take a trip down to the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay to look at their latest Chinese New Year (CNY) exhibition – Dahlia Dreams 2021. Needless to say, we were totally blown away by the varieties of Dahlia cultivars.
By the time you are reading this post, the exhibition should already be over. Don’t fret and read on: we will be sharing some of the photos we took which should convince you of the beauty of Dahlia cultivars.
Introduction to Dahlias
Like us, you might have been misled by the exhibition poster regarding the origins of Dahlias. Although the event is held every year during CNY and the beautiful blooms are especially fitting for the festivities, Dahlias are not native to China or even Asia. They come from Mexico and South America.
In the family of Asteracea, they are close relatives to sunflowers and daisies. Dahlias are tuberous perennials that thrive in temperate climates. They usually flower in the late summer and die back when frost appears. The tubers underground will then be dormant throughout winter and start growing again next season.
Some of the Dahlias cultivars we saw were grown by Gardens by the Bay in HortPark under temperature controlled greenhouses. Sadly, it is unlikely that home growers like us will be able to make it work at home in our tropical climate. Let us know if you had any luck in the past growing them!
Dahlia cultivars at the flower dome
Dahlias have been cultivated for their vibrant blooms and medicinal ingredients for hundreds of years. Due to the efforts of breeding and selection by horticulturists and hobbyists, we are able to enjoy so many cultivars today. The image below shows the general classifications of Dahlia types by the shape of their blooms.
The following are some photos that we took at the show.
Dahlia ‘Akita’
Dahlia ‘Apricot Desire’
Dahlia Ball
We are not sure about the exact name for this one. Let us know if you noted it down.
Dahlia ‘Black Jack’
Dahlia ‘Cafe au lait’
Dahlia ‘Caribbean Fantasy’
This was one of our favourtes.
Dahlia ‘Checkers’
Dahlia ‘Elli’
Dahlia ‘Elsie Huston’
Dahlia ‘Frost Nip’
Dahlia ‘Gladiator’
Dahlia ‘Inge Wenling’
Dahlia ‘Kazusa Shiranami’
Dahlia ‘Kevlin Floodlight’
Dahlia ‘Nenezaki’
Dahlia ‘Neo’
Dahlia ‘Park Princess’
Dahlia ‘Spartacus’
Dahlia ‘Sugarcane’
Dahlia ‘Tartan’
Dahlia ‘Zitronella’
The labels might be wrong as we wrote this a few days after our visit 
That’s all for today! Bye