Dahlia Dark Angels Taxi Driver

The Dahlia 'Taxi Driver', like all the varieties of the 'Dark Angels' series, is a small plant, with dark foliage that highlights the small, abundant, brightly coloured single flowers. The 'Dark Angels' are dwarf but vigorous, floriferous, and original Dahlias, perfect for ornamental borders and flower pots. Taxi Driver flowers are beautifully bi-coloured, with a gentle banana yellow colour that is centered on a honey-brown heart. They create a beautiful contrast with the deeply bronzed, purplish-chocolate foliage. It blooms early in the season and its flowers continue to bloom until the first frost, bringing joy to gardeners and bees alike.

Dahlias belong to the Asteraceae family and are originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. They have inflorescences organized in heads, which we commonly call 'flowers'. Currently, the approximately 25,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded gardens worldwide, much to our delight. The Dark Angels Dahlias, developed in the Netherlands, have names that allude to successful American films such as "Braveheart," "Pretty Woman," "American Pie," "Dracula," "Pulp Fiction," "Star Wars," and "Taxi Driver," the only true yellow in the collection, registered in 2007.

The variety 'Taxi Driver' ('Vdtg57') is a dwarf Dahlia that will not exceed 40-45 cm (16-18in) in all directions. It is also classified as a 'Mignon' decorative Dahlia, which is a horticultural category defined by the shape of the flower. In this group, the 8 colored ligules or 'petals' of the head (what we generally call the flower) are arranged in single corollas around a central disc. The flowers of 'Taxi Driver' have a diameter of approximately 4 cm (2in). The outer ligules are a medium yellow colour. The colour of the flowers fades slightly over time. The initially very dark brown heart of the flower is composed of tiny flowers that open in a bright yellow and then turn amber. It blooms from June-July to October, or even November if the weather is mild. It has a bushy and compact habit, requiring no staking. The highly branched stems are hollow, and the leaves are opposite and deeply toothed. The leaves are initially purple, turning to deep bronze. The stems are also a very dark purple.

To encourage continuous flowering, be sure to remove faded flowers or, even better, regularly make large colourful bouquets by combining it with other compact varieties. 'Taxi Driver' can be combined with all other Dark Angels varieties in flower pots and at the front of flower beds. Very colourful in both foliage and flowers, this Dahlia often stands on its own. However, you can still offer it a setting of white and delicate flowers, such as Diamond Frost Euphorbia, Nemesia, white snapdragons, or Aster prostratus Snow Flurry, for example. Also, consider small grasses like Pennisetum setaceum Rubrum, Stipa pennata and barbata, and Carex Comans bronze, which will bring a beautiful touch of lightness and elegance to the ensemble.

As a star plant for borders and cottage gardens, Dahlias confidently accompany the most beautiful flowers but are also appreciated alongside vegetable plants. In Mexico, this tuberous plant was initially cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption. However, its poor taste qualities relegated it to the status of an ornamental plant. Since then, the interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.