The 2022 Dazzling Dahlia Show did not disappoint on a dismal drizzling weekend
By Anne W. Semmes
Radiating joy and color in the midst of grey clouds and rain this past weekend was the 14th annual “Dazzling Dahlias Show” presented by the Greenwich Dahlia Society at the Greenwich Botanical Center. Some 350 people were perusing over 400 varieties of blooming dahlias set against the vivid and exotic oil paintings of Greenwich grown artist Jimmy Johnson.
But it was atop the Court of Honor table that stood the most dazzling dahlias judged as “King,” “Queen,” “Prince,” and “Princess.” And there. returning again from Harwinton, CT, was the prize-winning green thumb of Jesse Peterson winning near grand slam prizes for King, Queen, Prince, and “Best Fully Double Bloom in Show” a dinner plate sized, sunburst colored, A C Jeri variety dahlia.
According to ever present Tony Marzullo, Greenwich’s horticulturist extraordinaire, growing a bit less into his 90’s, the dahlias on display “look better and better every single year.” He attributes it to the weather. “We have enough rain, and we have the cool nights.” Dahlias like weather at 70 degrees he said, and they keep their blooms for two weeks.
Also, on the Court of Honor table sporting a ribbon was Pam Schaefer’s winsome tangerine dahlia, a Sandia Brocade variety winning Best 3 Anemone. A Greenwich grower this year of some 40 dahlia plants, Schaefer was mentored by Tony Marzullo. Her winning presence on the Court of Honor represented the only Greenwich-based grower.
Big winner Jesse Peterson was not present at the show, but he had Marzullo to speak for him. “He is an amazing grower,” said Marzullo, and living further north where the weather is a bit cooler he believe also works in Peterson’s favor. “When you look at Jesse’s flowers, they’re 12-inches across, and the King size comes close to 14-inches across.”
Reaching out to Peterson he shared he’s been growing dahlias “for about 25 years.” And, he has a lot of choices of what to grow. “There are over 40,000 varieties of dahlias now,” he told, “and that number grows each year as new varieties are introduced.”
With all the dazzling colors of dahlias filling the room, with exhibiters coming from New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut, there was a contest of color with the swirls of colors and shapes seen in the backdrop of paintings by Jimmy Johnson, who grew up in Greenwich but now paints his colorful and exotic compositions in a New York City studio.
But not to be missed upon entering the dahlia show was the striking rosy-purple bloom, a My Hero variety with its ruffle and twist and silver reverse of each petal, and First Place ribbon. The winner was Anthony Marzullo, Jr. The petal does not fall far from the flower, surely from his dad, Tony Marzullo!
