The next year’s theme typically comes to me as an epiphany when the current year’s growing season comes to an end.  I kept waiting for the 2026 patio garden inspiration to strike.  I thought another musical theme would hit but “Mellow Yellow’ and "Yellow Submarine” just weren’t doing it for me. 

So finally I said, “fuck it, I’m doing an edible patio garden.”

The other day, I threatened a couple of golfers at work that if they kept talking to me about golf, I’d start talking to them about gardening. It definitely worked, but they seemed to be under the delusion that I’d talk about fertilizer. Nothing against good fertilizer but, ew, no. It would be about seed sowing, duh.

Many perennials and some annuals need cold, moist stratification to achieve germination.  Boiled down, this just means copy Mother Nature. When a flower drops its seeds, it will often sit on the ground and refuse to come up until it’s been smacked silly with some brutal winter.  Seems a bit masochistic to me, but whatevs.

So if you’re like me, here’s how to have them even in the colder zones (at or lower than zone 8).  Dahlias are considered a tender perennial.  This means that they can come back every year but they cannot stand sub freezing temps. 

I’ve mentioned before how my stubborn ass refuses not to have a greenhouse in my backyard in a Chicago suburb.