Looking forward to the dahlias

My dad has such a green thumb. He can stick anything in the ground, and it grows into...well, anything it's supposed to grow into. I've never had a very huge interest in growing things, but was bitten by a bug when a patient's wife used to bring in huge bouquets of dahlias to us. I had never seen such exquisite flowers! They do not have any aroma at all, but are a masterpiece to behold in their shape and colors. So, it was with that dahlia envy that I decided to plant me a few tubers a few years back and see what happened. I decided that I was not going to baby them or fret over them. If they lived they lived, and if not, well... I would then decide they were too much work. Imagine my surprise, when with all my neglect, they lived. Not only did they live, they bloomed, and bloomed and bloomed! Huge, beautiful flowers for months and months. I cut and shared so many bouquets, and they brought me and others so much joy. That is, until last spring. I added some soil to the bed, after being assured by the nursery that it was not treated with weed killers, and yet, it must have been, for my dahlias barely came up. The ones that did were weak, spindly, and the blooms were tiny. I am so hoping that the soil has settled in and the weed killer is no longer active, for I long to see bouquets like this one from two years back adorn my table and the hearts and hands of so many others.