Dahlia Teesbrooke Audrey

The Dahlia 'Teesbrooke Audrey' is a variety that showcases soft colours, with its pale pink flowers with creamy white collars, of a good size for a dahlia of this category. This tenderly coloured variety easily blends with many other flowers in the garden. And its endless flowering appeals to both flower lovers and bees attracted to its large golden heart, until October. Of medium stature, this plant is perfect in borders and its flowers are sublime in a vase. 

Dahlias belong to the Asteraceae family and are originally native to the high plateaus of Mexico. Currently, the more than 50,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded, to our great pleasure, gardens around the world. The dahlia is a herbaceous perennial plant, thanks to its tuber, a storage organ that allows it to pass the dormant and dry season.

The 'Teesbrooke Audrey' variety, registered in 1999, is classified as a Collarette dahlia, which is a horticultural category defined by the shape of the flower. In this group, the coloured ligules of the head are arranged regularly in a crown, around a collar of small petals surrounding the central disc. The flower heads of 'Teesbrooke Audrey' measure up to 11 cm (4in) in diameter. The flowering period is from July to October. Its habit is bushy, with the plant reaching approximately 1.10 m (4ft) in height and may require staking. The highly branched stems are hollow and the leaves are opposite, pinnately lobed, meaning they are divided into 3 or 5 highly toothed lobes. The leaves and stems are a vibrant green. 

To encourage repeat flowering, be sure to remove faded flowers, or better yet, regularly make large colourful bouquets by combining it with other varieties. 'Teesbrooke Audrey' pairs particularly well with white flowers (foxgloves, baby's breath), pink or mauve flowers (Catmints, Agastache 'Serpentine', Anchusa 'Dropmore'), and of course with romantic roses. The dark foliage of Physocarpus or Anthriscus sylvestris Ravenswing also enhances its gently coloured flowers.  

A star plant in borders and cottage gardens, Dahlias confidently accompany the most beautiful flowers, but are also appreciated alongside vegetable plants. In Mexico, this tuberous plant was initially cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption. However, its poor taste relegated it to the status of an ornamental plant. Since then, the interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.