It can be really interesting to let hybrids self-seed around the garden as sometimes you get a serendipitous moment. I once had a dahlia obsession and a few bulbs have survived being in the ground for years. Over the time they have been left to seed and die down as I don't want to shake the mildew spores, that appear in autumn, everywhere. So I now have two dahlias that may well fall under the Japanese term wabi-sabi, which roughly means 'beauty in imperfection' along with other profound and deep understandings in flaws as opposed to the western Greek concept of 'beauty in perfection'.




Dahlia self-sown plants

 
The Dahlia self-sown plants, quickly abandoned the idea of having lots of petals which opens up the stigmas and stamens for pollinators to have easy access to. The bumblebees that live in the same hedgerow are very happy with these two plants.



Dahlia single red 

 I really like the pink tips, which become more pronounced as they age, on the dark red, curled petals. This one is about one meter tall.

Dahlia single pink and white. 

  This is the third year this biggie has flowered I was at first disappointed to see those few petals near the center that are short and all over the place. I now have come to love them and really wouldn't want this strong healthy plant any other way. The petals are pink with white stripes and tips. It stands one and a half meters tall.
 There is nothing perfect about these plants, heck you cannot even guarantee that each flower is going to look the same. But they grow well and strong. They have selected themselves out as being the best for the microenvironment they sprouted in. But at the end of this season they will need to be dug up to move a little further along and refresh the soil. I can see already this winter will be the season of digging with a lot of beds in need of a refresh. Oh well I'll have great pectorals by next summer.