A few weeks ago my colleague at MGIMO was asked to buy a bouquet for one of our professors’ anniversary. She chose beautiful burgundy dahlias. The next morning I found out that one of the participants of the 2021 Chelsea Flower Show, which took place in September this year rather than in May as usual, was a lady who’d set up a business growing and selling dahlia tubers and seeds. I read her success story, which is very touching and inspiring. And the other day one of my professors from the University of Westminster shared a picture of dahlias from her garden. They seem to be popular autumnal flowers in the UK. It’s also interesting that the English word ‘dahlia’ comes from the name of the eighteenth-century Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl. I wonder where the Russian word ‘георгин’ comes from. And by the way, the renowned Chelsea Flower Show is part of the Royal Horticultural Society, whose headquarters are in Vincent square, London Victoria — within just a few minutes’ walk from my University of Westminster Wigram House halls of residence.
19/11/2021
/Photo from https://www.countryliving.com/uk/homes-interiors/gardens/a37538233/autumn-gardening-trends-rhs-chelsea-flower-show-2021/