Eating Dahlias

Lis (my wife) is reading a Winston Graham book that mentioned eating dahlia roots as an alternative to potatoes. So, as you do, I googled "eating dahlias". It turns out that these were originally from Mexico and were, at one time, a low cost alternative to potatoes. I never knew this.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/22185875 .

House Martins at Anglesey Abbey today

Well, there are still house martins around. We saw at least 6 this afternoon at Anglesey Abbey. These may be the stragglers or young ones. They will soon be gone to warmer climes. We also heard long tail tits and saw a buzzard.

The grounds here are very large and there is always something to see at any time of the year. The picture shows pompoms hung in trees made from old dahlia heads. They dig up the dahlia bed Oct 4th. The dahlias have been splendid for a couple of months.

Anglesey Abbey Dahlias

The dahlia border at National Trust property Anglesey Abbey is in full bloom, at least 4 weeks ahead of this time last year. This is always a splendid sight. This year is no exception.  Apparently, they put them in the ground in pots then just lift them when they have finished flowering.