Wednesday, June 03, 2015

The Hollyhock


It's that time of year again! The hollyhocks are growing and setting forth blossoms. Their vibrant clusters of blossoms really bring cheer to the heart.


I can remember hollyhocks as a child. They grew abundantly in the apartment complex where our family lived when I was very young. My sister and I enjoyed gathering the flowers to make dolls out of....and reveled in collecting the dried seed pods after the blooming season was past. When we opened the pod there were hundreds of tiny, black seeds that were all packed together so perfectly and tightly. Mother considered them a "junk" flower, so never grew any in her gardens in subsequent homes we lived in. Initially I accepted that as truth, but in recent years have enjoyed the abundance and beauty of this pretty plant.


When I clean up the garden each autumn, I am careful to break open the seed pods and sprinkle the seeds all around in the area where they grow so that I'll have another crop of pretty hollyhocks in the spring.

Do you like the humble hollyhock? Any memories to share?



2 comments:

  1. Putting Hollyhocks on my list. I so enjoy seeing them!

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  2. My mother had the same view of hollyhocks. Now they are in her garden. I love that they are making a comeback. I can hardly picture a thatched roofed, English cottage without them standing guard over the garden.

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