Join Joann and Allison chat with Janell Weiss of the Pollinator Patch. With a professional background agriculture, Janell grows thriving dahlias in Ohio, placing a strong emphaisis on virus free dahlias. When she was first made aware of virus in dahlias, she set a goal to clean her garden and has stuck with it. Janell shares with us her experiences along this journey and how others can also achieve a healhty dahlia garden.

Find out more about about Janell and the Pollinator Patch on social media @thepollinatorpatch and on her website www.thepollinatorpatch.com.

Join Joann and Allison discuss the Pacific Northwest Trial Garden in Tacoma, WA with Trial Garden Director Terry Schroeder. Terry has made significant contributions to the dahlia community. In addition to being director of the Tacoma Trial Gardens, Terry also serves as secretary for the Federation of Northwest Dahlia Growers and secretary for the American Dahlia Society.

Terry shares with us how she and her husband, Bob, help coordinate all that is involved with running the Trial Garden. Its not as easy as just throwing some tubers in the ground.

If you're interested in getting inolved, you can find Trial Garden Director contact information on the American Dahlia Society Website.

Join Joann and Allison chat with Dr. Jan Gawthrop of Oldoc Dahlias. Jan is a bovine pediatrician. He grows dahlias in Northeast Indiana and is a member, previously Vice President, of the Elkhart Dahlia Society. Jan shares with us a bit of his dahlia history and reminds us how much joy sharing these flowers with others can bring.

Jan new dahlia introductions are distributed through jsdahlias.com and missysdahlias.com.

Join Joann and Allison sitting around the table with Barb and Paul Bloomquist of Bloomquist Dahlias talk about how they started growing dahlias and how it looked for them over the years. Bloomquist dahlias are known for their beauty and strong plant habits, definitely staples in the dahlia garden.

If you're intereresting in purchasing new Bloomquist releases be sure to follow Paul's son's dahlia farm www.northcascadedahlias.com and @northcascadedahlias on social media. North Cascade Dahlias grows around 600 Bloomquist varieties and is home to to Paul's seedling patch (hardly a patch when you're growing thousands of seedlings) where he selects and grows out potential new varieties.

Part 2 of our discussion with Steve and Sandy Boley of Birch Bay dahlias discussing their mentors. However, we do often get off topic and Steve and Sandy share quite a bit about breeding.

Part 2 cover mentors: Wayne Holland, Jean Herringa, Steve Santose, Walt and Cory Wynne, Dick Williams and Bill Bonneywell.

You can find out more about Steve and Sandy's breeding on their website www.birchbaydahlias.com or on their facebook page.

Dahlia Legacy Project: https://www.legacy.nwdahlia.org/person/boley-steve-sandy/

Steve and Sandy Boley of Birch Bay Dahlias are back! This time our converstaion focuses on how the many mentors of theirs influenced their journey to become the incredible hybridizers that they are today.

Part 1 goes over mentors: Dr Kieth Hammett, Gordie Leroux, Richard Raymond, Evie Gullikson, Curt Sell and Bill McClaren.

You can find out more about Steve and Sandy's breeding on their website www.birchbaydahlias.com or on their facebook page.

Join Joann and Allison chat with Deanna of the Growing Kindness Movement. Driven by a mission to use flowers as a way to connect and show kindness towards others, the Growing Kindness Movment has become a worldwide effort.

To find out more about the Growing Kindness Movement, check out www.growingkindndessproject.com or on social media @growingkindnessproject. You can listen in on their new podcast, Growing Kindness, on all the major podcast platforms.

Join Joann and Allison chat with Rich Gibson of 20th Ave Dahlias. Rich shares with us all about his dahlia hybridizing from history to technique.

You can find Rich's new introductions for sale through www.crazy4dahlias.com.

Join Joann and Allison chat with Heidi Zierdt. She is the North Central Trial Garden director as well as the ADS Chairperson for all Trial Gardens. We discuss what an ADS Trial Garden is as well as how to go about entering hybridized blooms to be evaluated.

Join Joann and Allison chat with Jean Heeringa of Vista Dahlias! Her niece Lindsey, of IA Flower Farm, joins in on the conversation. Jean truely has a love for growing this beautiful flower, paired up with her innovative husband, Ron, the two grew thousands of dahlias in Whatcom County.

Jean no longer sell hers tubers. You can find them with Lindsey at www.iaflowerfarm.com and another family member, Stacy, https://dillndahlia.wixsite.com/home.

You can read more about Jean's dahlia history at the Dahlia Legacy Project webstie here: https://www.legacy.nwdahlia.org/person/heeringa-jean-and-ron/.