Dahlias are one of the most beautiful late-summer flowers. I associate them with early fall now. We harvested these blooms the day before frost came, gathering everything we could save and storing it in our flower cooler for Thanksgiving orders the following weekend. These are the very last of the final blooms of the season, a little tattered and destined for the compost pile, but still stunning. We had already begun digging the tuberous dahlia roots to store for winter, and to reawaken in spring. “Breakout” is the pink-and-cream variety facing into the light, a personal favourite of mine.