For Lee Hemmings Carlton, it was love at first sight with dahlias. Although the flower farmer had studied horticulture in college, it wasn’t until she moved to the mountains of North Carolina in 2008 that she discovered country dahlias. More than 15 years later, she’s curated and cultivated an impressive variety of them, combing through catalogs of smaller growers and experimenting with seeds and tubers to yield a spectacular array of sizes, shapes, and shades. At the link in our profile, the dahlia whisperer shares her no-nonsense secrets for coaxing tubers to grow into eye-catching beauties and extending the life of cut flowers. 📷: @erinadamsphoto; 💐: @goldenrodgardens; 📝: @betsycwatson