I think loosing the ground over the road is really a blessing in disguise, after all this year has been a nightmare with so much extra work to do, it has taken away the pleasure of dahlia growing. The extra work was bought about by me growing the split tubers of every one of last years seedlings, as well as growing four of each as cuttings, and an extra six of each to make pot tubers. My mate Bill Andrews always said he did better at the shows, once he'd cut down the number of plants that the grew, that way they received the attention they deserved as show flowers. Not that I'm showing in the strictest sense of the word, rather showing them off in the seedling classes, that's the aim. I remember when I visited him in hospital the week before he died he said he'd have to cut down the number that he grew to the minimum, not knowing how ill he really was. While I'm talking about Bill, I'd like to tell you how his one seedling giant is doing. You remember me telling you it was in the box of seedlings that accidentally got knocked off the edge of the staging. When I'd sorted out the mixture of potting compost, seedlings and labels, I miraculously found the one giant seedling, because a minuet snail had nibbled off a part of one of it's seed leaves before the box was dropped, this seedling began to get the star treatment after that. After all the seedlings were planted, certain ones bully their way passed their neighbours as they do, ol' Bill's giant was a mediocre sort of plant, and I wasn't all that impressed with it's progress, that is until now. It stands four foot tall with a central stem as thick as a broomstick, and the bud is at this stage is about as large as one pence piece. (For our friends round the World this is about 2 centimetres) I'll keep you up to date as the bud expands.  Let me tell you of another seedling that was lucky to make it's way into the World in 2005. While I was separating seed from husk last autumn I must have dropped one seed without knowing it, old `Eagle Eye' my wife Irene spotted it while clearing, so I placed it in it's own packet with a label marked `One seed Irene' As this year progressed and the first flowers developed I named one of the first small water lily flowered `Amy Rose' after one of our grandchildren, imagine my surprise when placing the name label to the base of the plant after cutting the flower, and the seed label next to the plant read `One seed Irene' a coincident of course, but strange don't you think.

The idea for this article is a sort of follow up of how the new stuff is brought along, it's progress and after care, most breeders will know of the anguish there is in breeding, not only are you working in the dark regards unexpected results, but couple that with weather problems, pleasing others, and in my case trying to keep the acid I produce, from eating my stomach away. I'm not kidding, I had a nasty experience regards what the professionals call an internal bleed. Cos you imagine the worse in these circumstances. I won't go into the graphic details, but the weeks leading up to the hospital visit was one of worry and a churning stomach. I opted to have the inspection done under sedation, not knowing what to expect, but feeling it wouldn't be pleasant, good job I did. One brave young man settle to have it done without, and come out coughing and sputtering. A nurse remarked, "You know what to do next time young man" The process entails looking at the lining of your stomach, with a camera on the end of a probe, I think it's called an endoscope. The worse thing is not knowing, and as you're sedated you can't be told until you are about to leave because you're not coherent for a while, so as I stood at reception with my wife and eldest daughter, I was relieved to know that no biopsies had been taken, and it was know doubt not as bad as I thought. As yet I have to wait for the report to be sent to my doctor to find out what I should be doing, but secretly I know I need to cut down on this wonderful hobby. I wish I could have a calmer attitude, but my nature is an excitable one, don't laugh my New Years resolution was to be, to think more clearly, it's a cracking resolution, if only I could master it, but the excitement is so intense I instantly forget.

Now for the `Magic Garden' I think the best way to lay out these pages is to take a few new varieties and deal with them two at a time, this way could help those who find it difficult to grasp how I've come to my conclusions. Let me state now, anything I say is up for debate, and is only an assumption, but if it helps to produce  better dahlias, that's my aim. One thing before I begin, I am sure that every new dahlia takes something from it's parents, but also stamps it's own particular authority on the way it looks, and also how it grows. First up two varieties I got by using Carolina Moon as a seed parent last year, one is a small water lily flowered the other what I call an open decorative. They are both about thirty inches tall and suitable for garden decoration only, I'm sorry the photo's aren't true to colour, try as I might I could not get the colour as it was to my eye, there was to much sun, but the single shots taken on a different day are nearer.

Both pollen parents were Ken's Rarity, which is a wonderful both ways variety for the new breeder to use. When I say both ways, I don't mean it in the usual term, after all we're talking flowers here. The variety in question is able to produce pollen, and also bear seeds. Next a couple of cactus, one a true cactus, and the other probably a semi-cactus.

I'm particularly pleased with these two, for one thing they come out as I was hoping, it wasn't a fluke, I planned it, and if the bloke who shouted out "It's just luck" when they were discussing breeding at some dahlia meeting. Some one tell him luck didn't play a part in it, and neither did Mr Bumble. The only time luck comes in to play is if they turn out the same next year, when they're grown in better soil, with the correct feeds. and more flowers per plant. I'm afraid you get a false impression when you see a flower for the first time, some of those that were fantastic in their seedling year, act differently when grown again, and visa versa. Take Charlie Dimmock, in her seedling year she was nothing to write home about,  but now she's getting established I think she's got the stamina to stand the course. Another of last years lovely's Leanne's Wedding this year has first flowers that are clock faced, I'm hoping as it's the first two or three, it's to do with the feed, we'll see. Some times I am sure we throw away the best varieties. The parents of the above flowers were Summer Night and Kenora Sunset. I'll leave you to decide which way round I did the cross. The first one took the size from Kenora Sunset, and the colour to a lesser extent from Summer Night. Tiger Tim inherited the bi-colour from Kenora, and God knows where the form come from. Wanna see another two?

No mistaking who's pollen influencing Mayan Star, that's right Reginal Keene, but don't expect to get any seed from the variety Reginal Keene, either I was unlucky or the variety doesn't set seed. Believe it or not the next one's a mystery. From a cross using Karma Naomi, which is a sort of small water lily, and Lemon Elegans, I got Mayan Shell, the form is what the American's call an incurving cactus. It could have only come from a field somewhere in Holland a generation or two ago, least that my guess, or was the mutation between the two varieties I used?

July 31st: Bill's one giant seedling has, with the help of all the rain we've had in the last two weeks, developed into a giant bud, it isn't at the colour show stage at present, but I can tell it's not white, which is a pity, because the variety he grew so well, and loved so much was Lulu Pattie. Still so long as this one seedling giant makes a name for it's self, and is good enough to bare Bill Andrews name that will be good enough for me.

August 25th: Had a good tidy up today after yesterdays storm, it went through here like an express train, quite a few blooms were lost. I laid the ones I'd taken off the plants, on the lawn to photograph; we've all had similar experiences haven't we? It's heart breaking though, especially the week before a major show.

Sixty blooms that didn't see a vase, didn't see a show, didn't see a nursing home or church, all they saw was the bottom of a wheelie bin. I've consulted the list I'd made before the storm, and I've lost three out of the original ten I'd earmarked for Shepton Mallet, so all in all it's not as bad as I thought, but the garden's in a mess, almost tied together with sticky tape. Still never mind I've still got this years seedlings.

Before I start giving you more information regards this years batch, I must tell you of an email I received from America, it was from a Ron and Betty, they didn't say what State, what Ron wanted to know is, do I sell hybrid dahlia seed, that's how he put it. I told him I never had enough to sell to the general public, but a seed firm called Moles of Essex did sell Collerette, decorative, and cactus seed. I suppose he must have been on the site and liked the look at some of the new stuff, which is encouraging. He emailed back saying, he thinks he'll have a go at producing some himself, good on you Ron, it's something every dahlia grower should experience. Just one more thing to report since the storm, Jomanda has sported a soft salmon pink on two stems on a plant growing in the garden. Identical to Jomanda in every way except colour, well it would be, being a sport. Funny thing is, the plant is growing in exactly in the same place as a second year seedling that sported, had occupied four years ago. Unfortunately I wasn't able to secure it. There's not a seam of radio-active rock beneath that spot is there? Any way on with this years hopefuls.

	Mexico Magic.		Mexico Shuffle.

Take a look at the petal lay and the shape of the petal, okay Magic's got a few more petals but the points are identical, these two come out of the same seed pod from a cross between Pacific Argyle and Hamari Rose. Both about three foot in their seed year and of similar stature. Decorative of course, because of the points, but a nice shape don't you think? P.A. was the seed bearer.

	Mexico City.		Mexico Miss.

Both of these flowers were, in this their seed year, bigger than average, that is over the maximum of six inches for a small, but until next year I won't know for sure just how big they really are. For quite a few of my dark colours I used Pacific Argyle, Karenglen, and believe it or not Karma Naomi. I know Naomi is a sort of open decorative, but for a few crosses that is all I had in the way of pollen. It was before I'd started to collected pollen, and used the fridge to hold it in limbo. Of course just because you use small varieties, it doesn't mean they'll throw all small flowers, within their make up is data from way back, and if part of one flowers characteristics are more dominant than the others, it's form, colour, height, or indeed anything about it will be firmly stamped on the offspring. 

	Madam Butterfly.		Brushwork.

Both these flowers have the shape of the individual parents, Madam Butterfly, the name thought of by my wife Irene, has the shape of Ken's Rarity, and the colour soften by the other parent Yvonne, on the other hand Brushstrokes, a name of a wonderful television series, coined by me, has the angular shape of Yvonne and an extra colour factor from Rarity. Both these flowers should be gobble up by the flower arrangers. Butterfly looks almost transparent, but I assure you it isn't. Found out that Brushstrokes had already been coined by someone else, had to change the name to Brushwork. Shall be working on this article in the next few days to get the rest of my seedlings logged.

October 7th: I'm sorry I've been so long winded in logging the rest of my seedlings down, it's not for the want of trying, each time I was about to complete them, so something, or someone cropped up. Before I start I think I should transfer them to a different location, or should I say another page, because this one for all those who know the in and outs of computering, I made that word up, and added it to my spell-check. This file has so many photos in it, it's 271 over 28.8 does that make sense? It means to say when you open the article it takes 271 seconds before you see the photographs. So bare with me while I take you to the next stage.

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