Remembered this and thought of you
I hope this email finds you having coffee on a terrace
Oh, hey there! Dusting this thing off. Let’s see if I remember how to type full sentences outside of Jira tickets and Slack.
How about a dahlia update? Here’s what I planted this year and how they did (all in containers or in a fenced raised bed because… groundhog:
Cafe au Lait - obviously a classic, obviously gorgeous, obviously a bit much. I did these in large containers on the deck, where they probably didn’t get enough all-day sun and definitely didn’t get enough root space. They did OK, considering, and I got multiple big blooms off one plant; two others gave a single bloom each at this point (yes, I pinched all of them), and the fourth hasn’t bloomed at all. I would do these again, but will put into the raised beds. I’m going to try to save my tubers but I’m not making this ~my thing~ and I’ll accept if they don’t survive! It’s fine.
Mikayla Miranda - these are “absolute bangers”. They bloom and bloom and bloom, consistently and lots at a time. Medium-sized blooms — striking but not so big that a human-sized vase would be overwhelmed. They last for more than a week, cut. Terminal stems actually do get longer if you consistently cut them off lower on the plant, unlike what I’m dealing with with the CALs. Highly recommend the MMs. (To be fair, these were in the raised beds getting better sun, so… you know.) Would buy again if the tubers don’t make it.
CALs are the two on the left (top more cream and lower more pink), and the MMs are the other 3:
Crazy Love - I also had these last year. They’re nice? Moderately prolific bloomers. They look really nice with the MMs because they’re white with a lilac outline, but a bit smaller and with a hint of yellow. I’ll try to keep these tubers but I’m not going to buy more next year if the tubers don’t make it.
Firepot (gallery/border style) - gorgeous! Really striking red, orange, deep purple on dark green foliage. Not as many blooms but they’re quite dramatic. Shorter plants are nice because I’m not constantly worried they’re not sufficiently staked in a high wind. I’m sure they’d do better in an in-ground border; probably won’t re-buy but definitely a nice option.
Leonardo (gallery/border style) - surprise hit; tons of blooms and they just keep going. Smaller flowers, but it’s great to have a consistent batch to put into bud vases in the windows. Worth trying if you’ve got a smaller spot to fill.
Belle of Barmera - not sure if I actually have any of these, because as of this writing, none of the plants that I think are BofB have actually bloomed. And I was probably the most excited about these total show-offs, which… idk, something about patience.
I’ll be trying to dig up and save the tubers and will happily send you some if you want; just let me know. Note that I guarantee nothing about this process, especially my ability to successfully dig and pack them. But if they work and survive, dahlias are super easy and satisfying to grow! Assuming you don’t have a groundhog.
In other news:
Last week I gave a little talk titled “Staying a Step Ahead of the Robots” (you are not surprised at that title, nor that the talk wasn’t actually about staying a step ahead of anything), and a couple days later, I see this real-life actual nightmare. I’m now working on how to intervene and save us all from what we’ve unleashed on ourselves; I feel like this should be pretty straightforward? I’ll keep you posted.
Is the Rowing Blazers x Target just a full reanimation of Rugby Ralph Lauren (RIP 💔), down to the navy-and-yellow stripes and embroidered skulls* all over everything? Yes. Do I unsurprisingly and unfortunately love one hundred percent of it? Also yes.
From the Well, Of Course department, a big exciting update. My main question here is: why does ADP have a [seemingly very formal] research institute?
Disclaimer: the following items are from a draft I started about 16 months ago:
meta-information you (ok, I) need
relevant to 100% of my work interests and let’s say 40% of my non-work interests
this is a pretty easy-to-digest framework for thinking about your own mental health and paths to… maybe not optimize, but at least understand, it, with respect to what stress does to you physically in a high-pressure career or industry.**
OK first it was Vail, and now I’m also obsessed with the progressive housing policy advocates in *checks notes* Steamboat Springs, Colorado! New fangirl of the Yampa Valley Housing Authority. Because this is a brutal restriction to be up against: “Today, in Steamboat Springs, development outside the urban growth boundary is restricted to one unit every 35 acres—or less.” And dang, credit to the YVHA for b-a-n-a-n-a-s levels of effort: “The housing authority has held 200 community meetings where residents have spoken about what they want…” 200!
* the Skull & Bones Wikipedia page is so hilariously weirdly written; I love it. It’s like it’s was created by a bunch of AI models who didn’t get into a secret society, but who aren’t bitter about it, like I’d expect humans to be? Teach us the way, robots.
** addendum from September 2023: I just listened to the Lenny’s podcast episode with Andy and it was also good. I basically only listen to podcasts in 2 scenarios: on airplanes, or very occasionally when I’m in the garden, because every single time I do that, each of my airpods falls out — one about 20 minutes in to whatever I’m doing, and the other about 30-40 minutes later. This week, the first one slipped into a crevice in a loose stone retaining wall I was really hoping not to disturb; the second lept into a hole I had just dug for a lavender transplant. There is an ancient story about moving a large rock over and over as punishment. There is a modern parable about disassembling and reassembling a stone a stone wall to retrieve a tiny electronic device to finish listening to someone talk about how Buddhism and meditative, exhausting physical activity enabled them to step away from a stressful career in tech.