The Backyard Bouquet Podcast: Cut Flower Farming Podcast for Flower Farmers & Backyard Gardeners

Ep. 80: Growing Dahlias, Letting Go of Perfection, and Finding Joy in the Garden With Anne Long of The Dahlia House Video

The Backyard Bouquet Podcast: Cut Flower Farming Podcast for Flower Farmers & Backyard Gardeners

Show Notes

What if growing dahlias wasn't about doing everything perfectly—but about showing up, finding joy, and learning to flourish right where you are?

In today's episode of The Backyard Bouquet Podcast, we are joined by Anne Long of The Dahlia House, a longtime dahlia grower, educator, and creative who has spent more than two decades growing flowers—and helping others discover that you don't need a huge farm, endless time, or a picture-perfect life to fill your days with beauty.

This honest, heartfelt conversation weaves together stories of resilience, loss, hope, and humor, as Anne shares how growing dahlias became both her creative outlet and her life's work. From devastating setbacks with wireworms and disease, to learning how to build a flower business that fits real life, Anne offers wisdom that will resonate deeply with gardeners, flower farmers, and anyone feeling stretched thin.

This episode is a reminder that flowers don't ask for perfection—only your presence.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

* How growing dahlias can teach resilience through life's hardest seasons * Why perfectionism can hold us back in both the garden and business * What flowers reveal about presence, hope, and living within our limits * How to build a dahlia-focused business that aligns with your values and capacity * Why self-care matters just as much as soil care * How boundaries, clarity, and joy lead to more sustainable success with flowers

Show Notes: https://thefloweringfarmhouse.com/2025/12/23/ep-80-growing-dahlias-with-anne-long/

Connect With Anne & The Dahlia House:

* Website: https://thedahliahouse.com [https://thedahliahouse.com/] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.dahlia.house * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDahliaHouse2020

Mentioned in today's episode: Veda Austin- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vedaaustin_water/

Sign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/thefloweringfarmhousenewsletter

More from The Backyard Bouquet Podcast: Cut Flower Farming Podcast for Flower Farmers & Backyard Gardeners

Oct 22, 2026

Fall is the season most of us treat as cleanup. Pull the spent plants, rake the beds, stop thinking about the ground until spring.

Oct 15, 2026

Most of us think of tulips as a spring flower. Emily von Trapp and Linda D'Arco built their businesses on proving otherwise.

Oct 8, 2026

Everyone says dahlias need cool nights, and Robin Blood grows them in Godley, Texas, where the summer hits 105 and the grasshoppers came in like a plague her second year.

Oct 1, 2026

About eighty percent of the flowers sold in this country are imported, and I have said for years that local growers are not competing with each other, we are competing with that eighty percent. So this week I wanted to understand it better, from someone who knows it from the inside.

Sep 3, 2026

T.J. McGrath spent years in advertising, marketing, and retail before he ever touched a flower professionally. He was one of nine kids and never had a garden growing up. Then his partner told him he was miserable, pointed him toward a little shop with a flower cooler two towns over, and everything changed.

See all episodes →