Dahlia Trial Garden

(5400 N Pearl St.)

One of the largest official trial gardens in the US and Canada, the Dahlia Trial Garden is sponsored and maintained in cooperation with the Washington Dahlia Society. The garden is comprised of plants grown from tubers sent by dahlia growers from throughout America, Canada, England, New Zealand and Australia. Each year, the dahlias are scored by official judges of the American Dahlia Society. Dahlias receiving between 85 and 100 points are included in the annual classification book. They are then named and become available to the general public. Blooms begin in July, but August is the best time to view the garden in full bloom, when plants reach heights higher than 6 feet.

• For more information on the American Dahlia Society, their Web site is http://www.dahlia.org.
• For more information on the Trial garden and/or the Washington State Dahlia Society, contact Marilyn Walton at 253-564-0459 or walton50@msn.com. The Society meets every third Monday of the month at the Fircrest Community Center in Fircrest, WA.
• The Metro Parks Tacoma contact for the Dahlia Trial garden is Sandy Orr at 253-591-5328 or sandyo@tacomaparks.com.
• This garden is not currently available for rentals. For more information about rentals, contact colleens@tacomaparks.com or 253-305-1010.

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Last Updated: Mar 30, 2009 8:18 AM