February 28: Marian Jean “Dahlias from History to Harvest”

Marian’s first memories of Dahlias are in her Grandfather’s garden in Scotland where the plants held their beautiful blooms well over her head. Marian’s love of gardening comes from both sides of the family. She discovered the incredible variety of Dahlias seven years ago when looking for ‘Jessie G’ as a gift for her mother, Jessie Giles. This began the obsession which created Oakridge Dahlias. Oakridge now grows over 900 dahlias anually, about 500 varieties, on her property south of Peterborough.

Marian was trained as a teacher and incorporates her love of learning and teaching in personal education and in helping others get the best from their dahlias.