Dahlia

It has a proper name, which I've forgotten over the years, but I call it Gabrielle, after the friend who gave it to me. Many of my dahlias have women's names: Gail, Gwen, Karen. But I'm about to give up on the whole lot of them--they need too much water, and the gophers think they are wonderful snacks. There are several plants whose colors I've never seen, because they get eaten before the flowers bloom. I do love a big floppy dinner plate dahlia though, and I bet I'll end up keeping a couple.