The start of the year signals my gardening obsession returning. So, all my seed packets have arrived and at some point I’ll log them onto an Excel spreadsheet (the only opportunity I allow myself for super-nerdy listing – those vegetables and flowers need a schedule dude). And I have a stack of raspberry canes, asparagus crowns, strawberry plants, and other bits and pieces arriving over the course of the next two months.
But my current big focus, and I don’t know why, is dahlias. Like my grandfather before me, I can’t get enough of them. They’re totally unscented, earwigs clamber all over them and cause non-chemical hippy types like me no end of pain, aqnd their leaves are as dull as ditchwater, unless you happen to have a cultivar with that fashionably dark quality. But their flamboyant 70s glamour always thrills me. They were the talk of the allotment last year, and everyone wanted to know what I was growing. Well, everyone is a bit of hyperbole, but there you go. I’m boasting.
So, in the spirit of summer, here’s some borrowed images of a few of my current favourites:
Lover Boy, image courtesy of dahliabarn.com
Downham Royal, courtesy of Sarah Raven
Rip City, courtesy of Amazon
Jocondo, courtesy of Arrowhead Dahlias
Chat Noir, courtesy of Sarah Raven
Pontiac, courtesy of Sarah Raven
New Baby, courtesy of Sarah Raven
I’m growing about 50 varieties. I know – I’m excessive.
And in the spirit of managing excess, alongside a desire to spread the love (I celebrate seventeen years with Matthew today), I’m clearing out a few of my perfumes that, though loved, are now never worn. You don’t need to send anything in return (although gifts are most welcome…): this is more to clear out some space, freshen up, tidy the bathroom.
The bottles I have to give away are as follows:
Eau d’Italie Bois d’Ombrie 100mls hardly used;
L’Artisan Parfumeur Dzing! 50mls – about 70% full;
L’Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses 50 mls – about 70% full;
Hermes Rocabar 100mls – about 85% full:
Patricia de Nicolai Vetyver 30mls – hardly used.
Leave a comment if you’re interested in a bottle, alongside wild promises of gifts in return. The wild promises will be dutifully ignored and bottle winners selected entirely at random. I’ll let you know in two weeks time.
Gorgeous, gorgeous dahlias! I live in an apt so my gardening is somewhat limited, but I’m so excited about my jasmine sambac that’s just started to bloom. Please enter me for the VdR! Thank you.
WOW. Gorgeous flowers. I grow no dahlias, but am an equally excessive gardener, with over 60 varieties of fragrant old garden roses. Speaking of roses, please enter me in the draw for VdR, one of my all time favorite, gloriously earthy perfumes for spring.
I would be delighted to receive ANY of those bottles! And in return, I will dedicate every last dahlia I grow in my garden to you – and if there are any sports, I’ll send you one.
thats clever, making a schedule for planting. i never would have thought of that, even if i did garden, haha.
you didnt manage to get rid of VdR in your last giveaway? i’d love to enter the drawing for dzing!
Congrats on both your anniversary and on your apparently wondrous green thumb. I’d love to be able to grow such beautiful flowers! I love their spiky petals! I was getting to buy a bottle of Voleur de Roses and Dzing! is basically my favorite perfume of all!
Happy Anniversary, Lee!!
Nice pictures- I love how the new baby (the orange ones at the end- is that what they’re called?) looks..
And- thanks for the lovely draw!! I’d loved to adopt either Voleur de Roses or the Bois d’Ombrie…*swoons at the thought*
will think of something reaalllyyy nice to send you..*grin*
Lee,
Thanks for doing this exciting drawing. Congratulations on your anniversary! <3
Thanks for your kind words!
Ooh please come my way sweet bottle of Bois d’Ombrie! And if I can be in two draws, Voleur de roses as well. I can’t give you anything but… samples galore. And perhaps scanned photos of unknown dahlia varieties, if you’d be interested in that. I love dahlias too.
I see you’re keen!
17 years… Wow. I have a 2nd anniversary coming up next week, and that’s my longest relationship thus far. Congratulations and that there may be many more anniversaries to come!
The dahlia’s do have a sort of gaudy, excessive 70s glamour about them, don’t they? I don’t have a garden or gardening talent (my only house plant is an indestructible sanseveria), but I admire the quality in others. :”>
I’d love to be considered for Bois d’Ombrie or Voleur de Roses.
You’re considered. It’s that borderline 70s vulgarity I love so much!
ps….i have many bottles i don’t use….what would u like?..and gardening is such a healthy thing to be excessive with…i have many bottles i don’t love or need!!!
Happy Anniversay number 17!!!guess what…u and i share an anniversary day…except mine was the 18th year…ur dahlias are perfect and a dream,(in HK we have alsmot no nature!!!) but a strong memory of my moms garden when i grew up….the photos can inspire me to paint.
I would love to be on the random list for Dzing and Bois d’Ombre, as they are not available in HK.
I have an almost full fendi theorema(no lid) and an aromatic,home,essential oil blend that i use either with bois de isle eau de toilette, or without, which is called precious woods and vetiver and gives bois de isle a”lift”.it is 15ml and 2/3full. It’s gorgeous. Have a great year!!!!
You’re on the list. A delight to read your entertaining comment.
Happy Anniversary, Lee! 17 is really something to celebrate.
That new baby looks WONDERFUL… and a tad appropriate to the occasion hehe.
I’d love to be in the drawing for Dzing! or Rocabar.
New Baby does look wonderful, doesn’t it? And thank you.
You’re in!
Hi, Lee –
I’ve no need for more perfume at the moment (did I actually type that? 😮 ) just wanted to say Happy Anniversary <:-p Dahlias are incredible! I live in a rural area, and my elderly parents are nearby. Their neighbors grow dahlias and show them all over the midwest. In the fall, my mother and I get to cut as many as we want before they get cut down. For a couple of weeks, I have huge bunches in multiple colors and sizes everywhere I can put a vase. I know they are lots of work; I admire your talent!
But there’s nothing better than having vases full of dahlias in the house, is there…?
Happy anniversary!
This is my first comment but I often read this blog.
Please enter me in for anything. I’d like to try this famous Dzing (I love Olivia Giacobetti) and Bois d’Ombrie (I see Eau d’Italie mentioned more in foreign webplaces than here in Italy and I’ve never seen their perfumes in a shop) but they seem to be the favourites on here, I’d never get them.
I’d send you something Italian, just tell me what you’d like.
Patty the black thumb 🙁
Lovely to have you here, Patty. And you’re in the draw.
congrats on your 17 years and many more to come. please enter me in for anything, I am in a serious perfume rut.
I hope you get out of that, elyse (I fall into one every April for about 6 months…)
You’re in.
Happy anniversary and I would love to be in the drawing for the Eau d’Italie Bois d’Ombrie. In return, I can offer you orchid growing supplies if you’d like.
You’re in zeram.
Those are stunning dahlias! So I may be late, but better late than never: I’ll put in my bid for the bottle of Voleur de Roses.
And if I win, I’ll see that you have some English roses for your garden. If I had any sun at all in my little alley you can safely bet that I would be growing a bush. (I have a soft spot for the Pat Austin variety – stunning apricot color, as I had a bush growing up.) The crazy gardener gene runs in the family. My mother had a rose tree that she would run outside to tie down in wind storms.
I grow Pat Austin and it’s lovely, though the weight of the blooms tend to make the whole plant droop. Nonetheless, gorgeous colour.
You’re in.
The flowers are really nice. I’m on a rose kick! Would love to adopt your Voleur de Roses. I could send you a bed of roses!:)
Ok! you’re in for VdR (though it’s more patchouli really).
Ah! Thanks for the lovely photos! Nothing takes away those seasonal blues better than all those gorgeous colors.
I’ll join the ranks and ask to be put in the drawing for Dzing! Thanks!
As for you, colour makes my heart sing.
You’re in.:)
Congratulations on your anniversary and may you enjoy many many more! Your blooms reminded me that the snow will melt and I’ll enjoy my favorite season soonish. I’m not that lucky but add me to the list. This does not count as winning–once I collected a Michael Jackson doll in a raffle I was provoked into entering. The glove was on the wrong hand!
A strange prize indeed.
You’re in!
Oh, dear, I forgot about the bribe. How about a year’s worth of slopppy basset hound smooches from Halsbury (world’s best, snuffliest — and most deliciously evil – basset diva)?
What a lovely thought!
Oh, to be in England, now that April’s, er, a couple of months away!
Many, many congratulations on your anniversary, Lee! The only relationship i have had that has lasted seventeen years is the one in my head with Samuel Ramey (sigh)…
Your photos are gorgeous . I genuinely look forward to your posts. They are a lovely respite from the frustrations of job hunting in this wretched economy, and always make me feel just a tiny bit more hopeful.
Please add me to the list for the Bois D’Ombrie. It has the sort of potent earthiness that I suspect would suit M. Ramey.
Fingers crossed on your job hunt – it’s not an easy time. And you’re in the draw.
Maybe random chance will be kind to me! Please put my name in the fedora!
It’s in.:d
Dahlia tubers are edible, aren’t they. Beautiful flower pictures! I even like the name Dahlia. It’s like a combination of Delia and darling. I’d like the roses, or the Bois d’Ombrie, or anything really. Thanks!
You’re in! I’m not going to steam my tubers just yet…
It’s certainly that time of year isn’t it? I’ve just been on the Peter Nyssen website ordering some dinner plate varities; love Claire Obscure and those dark rich purples, and some of the Bishop range. They might be the answer to your boring foliage issue, as they have deep purple and bronze foliage – a bit like the black leaved elders – very dramatic! But you can’t beat the Sarah Raven site for luscious photos..
Please enter me in the draw – either Bd’O, or lovely Dzing! would be given a good home, and if you’d like some dahlias in return do let me know! Happy anniversary to you both.
I grow Bishop’s Children each year from seed and keep the best ones. But the leaves, no matter how sultry, are always secondary to the flowers…
You’re in, and thank you.
I adore dahlias – and who says they are unscented? I love the warm sunflower aroma that comes out when the stems are cut. :):)
Please enter me in the drawing – I would love either Bois d’Ombrie or Dzing! – I am in the mood for warm, comforting winter scents now. And thank you for such a generous gesture!
There is the stem scent, true enough (I don’t like it too much!)
You’re in, and welcome
I don’t want to put my name in for any of your wonderful bottles.
I do want to commend you for being so generous, when the times feel so stingy and hopeless, for letting go of perfumes you don’t love and for letting go of them in such a selfless way, for leading by example, for paying it forward. Really. Your gesture brings a little light and happiness to my day. Thank you.
Thanks Justine. It’s not that generous, but yes, we all need to do our bit to relieve the gloom…
I was unselfishly going to refrain from putting my name in, but then I saw that you have a bottle of Rocabar, which I could give a good home, since I am very nearly out (I have maybe three wearings left, and am hoarding them jealously) and I love it so much.
In return, if such a thing is warranted, I will send you a bottle of…well, I don’t know. What do I have that’s good? I have lots of stuff I never wear. We can talk.
Definitely we can talk. You’re in pyramus.
OMG, you know what’s funny? Since the Hermes Rocabar was right under that orange dahlia I thought for a second that was the name of the flower! I thought that was so cooll-)
Anyway, we grow some amazing dahlias here in Oregon. I love how they bloom through September and keep the summer going on and on.
No need to enter me in the draw….but Happy Anniversary!!
Thanks Pikake. Yes, flowers named after perfume. If only.
I loooooove dahlias, except for staking them when they try to fall over (don’t like pinching them back, let them grow grow grow).
I also love the Rocabar Man. You know, the guy in all the ads, on the little tissue packet, the one with long dark hair and the Intense Look. Rocabar, yeah, that’s the one.
You and Matthew. Long may you wave.
Thanks dissed. You get more flowers if you cut them back, y’know. And staking – well, I have an easy solution to that – will explain sometime.
You’re in for the intense Rocabar.
Happy anniversary! I am completely envious of all those dahlias. Those and basil are the two plants that have always defeated me in the garden. With hydrangeas, fuschias, and hibiscus I can do no wrong, but with dahlias no luck at all. I would absolutely love the Dzing. I’d plead for the Bois d’Ombrie too, but as it is my decant will probably last until the next ice age.
It must be where you are rather than the plants themselves. Like basil, dahlias will take sun and moisture til the cows come home…
You’re in!
Ahhh, those Dahlias! Can’t grow ’em here–just not enough humidity or too much heat. I thought they love heat. Or maybe, in the middle of the night, earwigs pull up in a low-rider (earwigs need low to the ground cars, after all), cut them off and drive them away. Somewhere in the desert there are huge gardens of my dahlias, with earwigs dancing around them, chanting. Or maybe I have to knock off the NyQuil. In any case, may your garden fill you with joy and fragrance.
And may you and Matthew have many, many more years of bliss.
And may I escape with Voleur de Rose or Bois d’Ombrie.
Ha! They’re remarkably tolerant actually, though they get the humidity here. I like the low-rider earwigs (I actually quite like earwigs, but not their dander…)
You’re in!
Congratulations! I too understand the draw of the dalias. Unfortunately some very persistent beetles ate mine right down to the ground when we first moved here 11 years ago. I’ve never tried dalias since then. However, I should try my hand at them again, now that I’ve had success at organic vegetable gardening.
I’d like to put my name in for the bottle of Bois d’Ombre. In return, may I tempt you with 5 varieties of Heirloom tomato seeds? I’ve grown each variety in zone 6 & know them to be fantastic. I’ll sweeten my bid with a 10ml bottle of my secret recipe of Bugz Begone made with 100% essential oils and instructions on how to use it. I’ve used this with great success over the years in my vegetable garden.
Oh my Christine. That’s a wholly tempting offer!
Continued good fortune with the vegetable growing.
Dahlias are my favorite flower. I have a garden full also.
I would love ANY of the fragrances that you are giving away. In exchange, I will give you one of my hairless cats so you can experience the morph of scents on their soft little naked bellies!
Wow. Hairless cats. Fascinating.
You’re in.
Your flowers sound lovely and the ones that you pictured are fabulous. Sign me up for Dzing and/or Voleur de Roses. Also, congratulations on your 17 years, that’s a mighty long time in these days and times!
Thanks PL – with Matt, 17 years are remarkably easy…
You’re in!
Please send me Dzing! I’ll send you one of my children as an indentured servant for your garden and my 30ml bottle of A*men in return!
lol Nancy. You’re so kind (I think). You’re in.
Lee,
Congratulations on your anniversary. 17 years! How beautiful. I can only wish you both endless happiness with one another.
I am charmed by your fascination with Dahlias – in fact, I am charmed by your posts in general. I look forward to your perspectives on perfume, but also, your observations on living in the world with appreciation, sensitivity, humor and gratitude. If you can include me in the Dzing! offering, I would be so pleased. I am so pleased with your posts, in any case. All the best to you!
Margot
Margot, you’re in. And thank you for your kind words.
Thanks for sharing the pictures. Please enter me in the draw. -J
You’re in Janell.
first time commenter here – i just wanted to say that i love this blog and have learned a great many things about perfume by reading it and i come back for more each day! so thank you so much for all the work you put in here. and i’d be so happy to win that bottle of voleur de roses, and hope i am qualified for the drawing..
all the best from germany, lena
Of course you are Lena – and welcome!
Enter me for the Dzing, I will reward you with riches beyond measure. Or candy. Or a 99% full bottle of Petit Guerlain?
Thank you Alexandra. You’re in!
Thanks for the beautiful pictures and happy anniversary! I’d be interested in the Bois d’Ombrie or either of the L’Artisans, should I be so lucky as to win one of them!
Thanks Ben. You’re in with a chance of one of the three.
Beautiful pics, darlin. And happy anniversary! What would you like to have from Texas? bluebonnet seeds perhaps? how about yellow roses?
I would take a shine on that Bois d’Ombrie…
Thanks, lovely. You’re in the draw for sure.
That bottle of Dzing! — lordy, Lee, the things I wouldn’t do for a 50ml bottle of Dzing! But I guess I’ll just appeal to the Gods of Randomocity to smile on me. Thanks!
Also, that Pontiac dahlia is my type of flower. A neighbor up the street had some varieties that seemed big as dinnerplates last summer, but I personally can’t see growing them in this arid zone of California…. seems very irresponsible, but they are sure nice to look at when I take walks.
You’re right zabout SoCal dryness and irresponsibility unfortunately. Though I water the allotment from the stream nearby, I try not to water the garden at all. Feel bad otherwise.
Let’s hope the Lord of Random is on your side.
Wowee, that Chat Noir is amazing; well, the others are as well. As a child I was always drawn to my parents’ Dahlias…I love the saturated colors and the waxiness of the petals. All of them are so amazing. Too bad I’m no gardener…
I’d so love the Bois d’Ombrie OR Dzing! Please enter me into the drawing. It’s such a kind and generous gesture!
I myself have been decluttering/cleaning out, but nothing as fun as you-I’ve been dragging everything out of closets/storage areas and making a *real* mess of my house. There are always those things that are in limbo, waiting for me to think of a proper charitible organization that can use particular items.
Have an amazing day!
You’re in the draw.
The worst thing a bout that decluttering is when you have about 10% left, scattered about, and you don’t know what to do with it. Mine always ends up in the ‘messy drawer’.
I don’t know that I’ve ever got to the point of only having 10% of my cr*p left@-)
Lee, thanks so much for your kind comment; but – umm… am I being considered for the PdN Vetiver, please?
^:)^:d
Of course you are!
Totally-it always gets worse before it gets better. And, oops, forgot to wish you a wonderful anniversary-happy celebration!
Thanks!
Happy anniversary and happy return (almost) of the joys of spring! I was delighted to read about your dahlias – glorious! My own garden project this year is to create a vine maple tree forest, complete with singing frogs and hummingbirds, on my little urban oasis in the Pacific Northwest. I would like to be included in the drawings for the two L’Artisans and the Eau d’Italie. Many thanks for your sweet generosity!
I’m fascinated by your plans. I need to hear more!
And you’re in.
Vine maples for green, leafy shade; low groundcovers to provide cool, damp shelter for frogs; honeysuckle to attract hummingbirds; and white trilliums scattered about for their sheer beauty. By the way, a hummingbird came by to chatter at me while I was doing garden cleanup last weekend – I was amazed, considering the snow and freezing temperatures that we in western Oregon recently had. Wishing you happy times in your garden all year ’round, Lee!
Ah, trillums…I love them…have tried to get them to take in two different yards…I think maybe, just maybe, there was a hint of one last spring…hope springs eternal…
Your garden plan sounds lovely. I am impressed by your hummingbird visitor.
It does sound lovely, doesn’t it. And trilliums are beautiful.
Shelly – A hint about trilliums that may help: purchase plants that already are in bloom, as it takes 3-5 years for young trilliums to begin blooming. They love shade and rich, well-drained soil. Once established, they’ll multiply and greet you every spring in growing numbers. Happy gardening!
Thanks, Anne…good tip, quite true. I didn’t mention that I had to leave the first set (due to a move) before they had a chance to prove themselves. I am hopeful for the current batch…I’m guessing I’ll be able to report around the time folks in these parts start discussing Diorissimo and Apres L’Ondee… ;;)>:d< and a |-) for the trilliums until those spring days arrive...
Congratulations and happy, happy to you and your love!
Was intrigued by your post immediately when I saw the dahlia as winter has gotten the best of me and I’m depressed. No worries, it happens every year and I know how the cure–perusing every gardening catalog, website, magazine I can find!!! I just started this week and was contemplating dahlias–haven’t grown em yet and the colors are dazzling. I’m slightly put off though that there is no scent. Well, lots of fun decisions to make in the next few weeks!
Your offer is so generous–would love to be considered for the Voleur de Roses.
Thank you kindly!
Thank you. Planning plants is the only thing that gets me through this side of winter. Enjoy your browsing.
And you’re in.
Happy Anniversary, Lee!
No need for new perfumes, but thank you for bringing back wonderful memories of my grandfather and his prize-winning dahlias. He babied those things and entered the best ones in our state fair every year.
I think I might be headed in that direction myself…<):)
Happy Anniversary!
I would love any part of your never worn collection especially the Dzing, Eau d’Italie Bois d’Ombrie, and Vetyver… although I must confess myself my vast collection (which don’t include any of the stuff you’re giving away) is growing dusty cuz work has been crazy for me these days…
You’re in – and I hope work settles down for you soon enough.
I love dahlias! I have some in my backyard that grow despite my black thumb and having unknowingly pulled them as weeds the first spring.
I would love to take the Bois d’Ombrie off your hands. Or the Voleur de Roses. I’ve never tried B d’O, so that would be unsniffed 😮 …but I think I’d like it.
Yeah, they’re resilient plants, even if they do look a little ‘weedy’ at first!
You’re in!
Wow, 17 years boggles my fickle little mind — congratulations! And your generosity is touching… I would love to be entered in the drawing for anything but the PdN (sorry for the horribly picky request to complicate your life further — they just never work on me). In return, I will weed your dahlias and oh-so-gently shake the earwigs from their silken petals.
Thanks Natalie and pickiness is fine. You’re in.