Washington State Dahlia Society (WSDS)

Washington State Dahlia Society (WSDS) Your local dahlia club for Tacoma and Pierce County! WSDS promotes the appreciation, cultivation, exhibition, and hybridization of dahlias. J.W.

We have monthly meetings, run the Trial Garden at Point Defiance, and have an Annual Show every Labor Day weekend. The WSDS meets monthly, runs the Tacoma Trial Garden at Point Defiance Park, has an annual dahlia show on Labor Day weekend, has tuber sales in the spring, and promotes the appreciation, cultivation, exhibition, and hybridization of dahlias. The WSDS began as the Tacoma Dahlia Society

in 1912 after a successful show in 1911. In 1926, the club was reformed and renamed the Washington Dahlia Society. Our final name change came in 1934 to the Washington State Dahlia Society. Although still a Tacoma club, we set out to start other clubs in the state. Over the years, new clubs and come and gone, but several remain in the Federation that were started by WSDS members. A dahlia score card was devised in 1934 by a WSDS member, Mrs. (Lillian) Lee and started the first Trial Garden in Puyallup at the Washington extension farm. WSDS continues to support the Northwest Trial Garden at Point Defiance Park. The Trial Garden, which helps others to get their new originations into the dahlia mainstream is a great source of pride for our club. It promotes dahlias and is one of the jewels in a large metropolitan park district. Annually, we host a Table Show in August. Members and guests from across Western Washington are invited to bring their blooms and compete. The judges educate new exhibitors by explaining why a specific bloom was chosen.

It is a big weekend for Puget Sound Dahlia Association as they celebrate their 50th anniversary show! They've given the ...
08/23/2026

It is a big weekend for Puget Sound Dahlia Association as they celebrate their 50th anniversary show! They've given the show the name Dahlia Spectacular, and we agree, the show and the dahlias are spectacular.

Come on and check it out at Sky Nursery fro 9am-4pm tomorrow (Sunday, August 23).

Of special note is their dahlia wall (great for pictures) and the club team challenge. Four WSDS members contributed blooms for our club team challenge. We didn't take home the top prize, but it was fun to put together.

Two more weeks!Our dahlia show is 2 weeks from today, September 5 & 6 at the Waller Road Grange in Tacoma.Here are some ...
08/22/2026

Two more weeks!

Our dahlia show is 2 weeks from today, September 5 & 6 at the Waller Road Grange in Tacoma.

Here are some details you will need to know.

On Saturday, September 5:
-Entries are accepted from 7:00am to 9:30am
-Judging begins at 10:00am.
-Show is open until 6:00pm

On Sunday, September 6:
-Show opens at 11:00am
-Awards presentation is at 3:00pm
-Show closes at 4:00pm (after awards presentation).

Thinking about entering??

Check out all the rules and information at https://www.nwdahlia.org/shows/
Send us a message with any questions!
If you're entering in the show (or even if you are not), you can also participate in the show as a clerk where you will support a team of judges through the judging process. It is a great way to learn more about dahlia shows and how dahlias are judged.

If you are interested in clerking, please send us a message!

We are sad to announce that Don Filand passed away on Monday, August 17. Don served many years as the WSDS vice-preside...
08/20/2026

We are sad to announce that Don Filand passed away on Monday, August 17. Don served many years as the WSDS vice-president in charge of awards for our annual show and coordinating programs for our monthly meetings. Don also spent years volunteering weekly at the Dahlia Trial Garden at Point Defiance Park.

Don was the hybridizer of "NTAC" dahlias, with 11 varieties listed in the ADS Online Classification Guide. NTAC stands for North Tacoma, which is where he lived. One of his varieties, NTAC Solar Flare, is currently on display in the buffer rows of our Trial Garden.

Don was also a long-term member of the Federation of Northwest Dahlia Growers and a senior judge for many years. Don also volunteered with the American Dahlia Society in collecting, formatting, and posting pictures for the ADS Online Classification Guide. In 2024 Don was awarded the American Dahlia Society gold medal, honoring his dedication and work for the ADS.

If you have any NTAC varieties growing in your garden, we'd love to see your pictures to honor Don's Legacy!

Congratulations to the top winners at the Snohomish County Dahlia Society - SCDS show over the weekend! Best single full...
08/20/2026

Congratulations to the top winners at the Snohomish County Dahlia Society - SCDS show over the weekend!
Best single fully double in show: Louis White (shown by Ryan Lasky, SCDS)
Best single open center in show: SB's Star (shown by Paul & Cheryl Howard, SCDS)
Best triple fully double in show: Louis White (shown by Ryan Lasky, SCDS)
Best triple open center in show: Kelsey Dwarf (shown by Colin Walker, PSDA)

We also had some WSDS members make the head table!
Best single Pompon: Glenplace (shown by Bob & Terry Schroeder, WSDS)
Best single Micro Collarette: Lo - Dorothy (shown by Elijah Olson, WSDS)

We are looking forward to this weekend, August 22-23, in Shoreline, with the Puget Sound Dahlia Association hosting. More information about shows can be found at: https://www.nwdahlia.org/shows/

Dahlia Show this weekend!Puget Sound Dahlia Association showSaturday & Sunday, August 22rd and 23that Sky Nursery, Shore...
08/20/2026

Dahlia Show this weekend!
Puget Sound Dahlia Association show
Saturday & Sunday, August 22rd and 23th
at Sky Nursery, Shoreline

Saturday, August 22 schedule:
7:00-9:30am entries accepted
9:45am Judges meeting & Judging
9:00am - 6:00pm Show open to the public

Sunday, August 23 schedule:
9:00am - 4:00pm Show open to the public
3:15pm - awards presentation

Visit https://www.nwdahlia.org/shows/ for more details and driving directions.

There were full tables and a full audience for our table show this evening, right next to the dahlia trial garden at Poi...
08/19/2026

There were full tables and a full audience for our table show this evening, right next to the dahlia trial garden at Point Defiance Park. Special thanks to Dina and Karen who came out to judge our table show. Congratulations to all the table show winners!

Next up is the real thing, our annual dahlia show is Labor Day weekend, September 5 and 6 at Waller Road Grange in Tacoma! See you there!

Some of the faces of the Trial Garden!The work continues, every Tuesday at 9am, all the way through September. We welcom...
08/18/2026

Some of the faces of the Trial Garden!

The work continues, every Tuesday at 9am, all the way through September. We welcome any volunteers to help with deadheading, disbudding, and weeding. Shoot us a message if you want to sign up to volunteer.

Thanks to Tim Clifton (https://timcliftonphotography.com) for sharing the pictures!

If you take pictures at the trial garden don't forget to tag us on Facebook or Instagram

The Dahlia Trial Garden at Point Defiance Park is a popular place for photographers!Thanks to Tim Clifton (https://timcl...
08/17/2026

The Dahlia Trial Garden at Point Defiance Park is a popular place for photographers!
Thanks to Tim Clifton (https://timcliftonphotography.com) and Diana Warren for sharing their incredible pictures with us!

If you take pictures at the trial garden don't forget to tag us on Facebook or Instagram

Join us for our next meeting Tuesday, August 18, 7pm at the Dahlia Trial Garden at Point Defiance Park!Our August Meetin...
08/16/2026

Join us for our next meeting Tuesday, August 18, 7pm at the Dahlia Trial Garden at Point Defiance Park!

Our August Meeting is our WSDS Table Show!

We're happy to have Karen Sanchez and Dina Wild join us to judge the show!

We hope to see many members and visitors bringing their blooms for our table show. See details below for information about the table show, and if you have any questions about the table show, please message us, we're happy to answer.
All are welcome to enter the table show, including non-members and visiting members from other clubs.

WSDS TABLE SHOW
A table show is "mini show" meant for practicing showing your dahlias and learning about showing and judging.

This is one of the best and easiest ways to dip your toe into showing your dahlias. Everyone coming to the meeting should bring something to show, especially those new to showing. If you have blooms, bring them!

You may bring up to 3 single-bloom entries and 1 triple-bloom entry per household.
Bring entries staged in black containers with filler, if possible.
However, entries may be staged in bottles or vases for this table show only.

Judging is educational and ADS rules apply:
*Each entry must have a set of leaves, disbudded.
*Fully Double blooms must have closed centers, not blown.
*Triple entries must be 3 of the same variety.
*Bring tags filled out, or tags will be available at the meeting, members can help you fill out.
*Pink tags for Novice, Yellow for Amateur, White for Open.
If you have never participated in a show before, you will be a Novice and use pink tags.

Best entry for each class - $5
Best overall single bloom entry - $10
Best overall triple bloom entry - $10
Best Novice, Best Amateur and Best Open entry - $5 each

Please bring entries between 6:30PM and 7:00PM
Those needing assistance with staging or filling out tags should arrive as early as possible, not at 6:59pm.

Table Show classes:
Class 1: AA (Giant) Single Bloom
Class 2: A (Large) Single Bloom
Class 3: B (Medium) Single Bloom
Class 4: BB (Small) Single Bloom
Class 5: Miniature Single Bloom
Class 6: Ball, Miniature Ball, or Pompon Single Bloom
Class 7: Waterlily Single Bloom
Class 8: Stellar Single Bloom
Class 9: All other types Single Bloom
Class 10: Triple Bloom – any type or form, 3 of same variety.

The countdown is on!Our dahlia show is 3 weeks from today, September 5 & 6 at the Waller Road Grange in Tacoma.Here are ...
08/15/2026

The countdown is on!

Our dahlia show is 3 weeks from today, September 5 & 6 at the Waller Road Grange in Tacoma.

Here are some details you will need to know.

On Saturday, September 5:
-Entries are accepted from 7:00am to 9:30am
-Judging begins at 10:00am.
-Show is open until 6:00pm

On Sunday, September 6:
-Show opens at 11:00am
-Awards presentation is at 3:00pm
-Show closes at 4:00pm (after awards presentation).

Thinking about entering??
Check out all the rules and information at https://www.nwdahlia.org/shows/
Send us a message with any questions!

If you're entering in the show (or even if you are not), you can also participate in the show as a clerk where you will support a team of judges through the judging process. It is a great way to learn more about dahlia shows and how dahlias are judged.

If you are interested in clerking, please send us a message!

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Tacoma, WA

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