The flower I am introducing for 2007 is Colwood Gail. I have shown this flower for 5 years and it has always been able to win a blue ribbon. This BB LC Lavender (ADS 388)

has won section champs and blues. It has never won a head table award. It works well in arrangements and also as a cut flower. The cost of my new introduction is $11.99. If you order 4 or more of my girls the shipping is free. A side note, last years introduction Colwood Scheri was shown at the National show in Long Island New York and won best large variegated bloom of the show. I was thrilled to hear about this. If you do not want to order on line thru Pay Pal you can contact me by e-mail. colwooddahlias@shaw.ca

I hope everyone has a great growing year in 2007 and we on the island learn to tackle a new problem brought on by the excessive heat. The spider mite problem was brutal on or flowers. I had a hard time coming up with blooms for 6 shows in 8 weeks. I have learned that the months of June and July are when they lay their eggs, and they need a dry leaf to lay them on. I am going to use overhead watering for these 2 months and see if this helps.

I wish all the very best of 2007 and hope you all grow winners for the show  as well as for you and your friends tables. Check out the 6 shows I was at last year, they are getting bigger and better every year. I would like to give a special thank you to all the volunteers’ at all the shows for their hard work. With out them what would we do on the weekends in August & September?