Wikipedia says of dahlias: "Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. A member of the Asteraceae or Compositae, dicotyledonous plants, related species include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum and zinnia. " This doesn't begin to convey the rich variety of colors, shapes, and sizes to be found among the cultivated varieties, many of them hybrids. Rather uncharacteristically for me, I found myself photographing a number of dahlias in public gardens recently without bothering to document, where available, their identification tags. I guess I just decided to let the blooms speak for themselves. The emphasis is on closeups, but there are a few shots that show them in the context of their surroundings. Enjoy!

Since this is a newly (2012) created gallery, I've decided to make this the 'original gallery' for any recent shots of dahlias, but just collect here my older shots of dahlias, leaving those pictures in their original 'original' galleries.