All of us are used to the idea that living things have a name that is particular to them. And as well as an English name, things have a Latin name. Latin names can be a right pain to remember, but they are very useful. If two species have the same first Latin name, then we know they are in the same genus - they are closely related. And we have a Swedish man in the 1700s to thank for starting to get this naming system in order, by the name of Carl Linnaeus. Bear with me - this has got something to do with gardening for wildlife!
Mr Linnaeus had a talented student, an Anders Dahl. He died tragically young, aged only 38. But he had a group of plants from Mexico and Central America named after him, and we still call them by the same name now - the dahlias.
They proved to be a most manipulatable plant in cultivation, throwing up all sorts of fantastic shapes and colours, but in doing so destroying most of their worth for pollinating insects.
But some still have the simple flower arrangement of the original species from the wild - a ring of large petals around a centre stuffed with nectar
And here were some of these 'single' dahlias I photographed this week in my local park. I don't know the cultivar name (although I'm seeking it from the Council). But you can see centre-top the flower is being visited by a hoverfly, and centre right by a bumblebee.
If you can bear all the hassle of lifting dahlias in the autumn and storing their tubers overwinter, and if you can pick out the singles rather than the flamboyant 'cactus-flowered' or pompons or doubles, their value now in early autumn for insects is wonderful. Give them a go!
I have grown Dahlias for many years,I only grow the single ones as they are much prefered by bees and hoverflies. Grown a new one this year name Honka and it is covered with hoverflies,I spotted it last September in Minnesota Arberetum,would recomend it to all wildlife gardenes.