Grow, Cut, Colour: Sarah Raven on Dahlias

Few flowers command a garden quite like the dahlia. With over 51,000 varieties registered with the Royal Horticultural Society, ranging from elegant waterlily forms to tightly packed pom-poms, these bold, flamboyant blooms have captivated gardeners for centuries. Native to Central America and Mexico, where they have been revered as a national symbol and used for everything from food to medicine, dahlias arrived in British gardens in the late 19th century and have never truly left. Today, after years of quiet loyalty from devoted growers, they are experiencing a joyful, full-colour renaissance.

Tania Compton preparing a dye bath with fresh dahlias. As featured in Selvedge Issue 130, Flower.

And as Katerina Knight reveals in Dyeing with Dahlias, featured in Issue 130, Flower, their talents extend far beyond the border or the vase. Dahlias are emerging as one of the most exciting prospects in the natural dye garden, offering a remarkable spectrum of colour, from vibrant oranges to deep, earthy greens, from spent blooms that might otherwise meet the compost heap.

But unlocking their full potential takes knowledge and a little know-how. Sarah Raven, who has been growing cut flowers at her farm at Perch Hill in East Sussex for decades, shares her tips on cultivating dahlias — and, if you find they are too gorgeous to dye with, cutting and displaying these flowers at their very best.

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How to Get the Most from Your Dahlias

Sarah Raven’s top tips for beautiful and long-lasting display

Dahlias are a stalwart of so many British gardens, known for their striking colours and opulent flowers. Expert gardener and author, Sarah Raven, has been trialling and testing new dahlia varieties for years and is a respected trendsetter when it comes to new colours and collections. She is admired for her abundant dahlia displays and gardeners take great inspiration from her Sussex home in Perch Hill. Sarah has shared her top tips for creating the abundant dahlia look, to inspire and help others to enjoy the same beauty in their gardens.

Dahlia 'Sissinghurst'. Image courtesy of Sarah Raven

Sarah said: “The misconception that dahlias are high maintenance comes from age old advice telling gardeners to lift their tubers. But as we come to experience warmer weather year on year, this is no longer required. Instead, we have been mulching our dahlias deeply in the ground at Perch Hill over winter, which we find to be just as effective and a lot less hassle...

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Image Credits:

Lead: We Are KAL floral arrangement, displaying dahlias in their home before they are used as dye materials.

All further images as credited in captions.