My Love Of Hollyhocks!
My garden grows wild, unkept by me. I finally realized a few years back that my garden grows on its own. The stronger plants survive and visit me each season without any help from me. The large beds have been established for over 25 years. The plants that come back each spring vary and I am always anxious to see what blooms.
My last attempt at planting flowers was a total disaster. The first week my potted plants looked amazingly lovely. Then the drought, taking care of dogs, and writing, distracted me, and I forgot to water. I walked out on my deck to little brown stubs, that once had been pink flowers. Yet looking out into the yard the greenery was growning tall, my rose bush was flourishing, with its long arms extending every which way. I was sad again last summer that my hollyhocks were gone. They bloomed tall and hardy the first years in my house, then they disappeared, strangled out by nearby butterfly bushes. My butterfly bushes have taken over most of the yard. But how bad can that be? I can see butterflies dancing from bush to bush when I visit the yard.
To my surprise and delight I have a new visitor this spring. Last week I walked the yard with a gardener, who was there to prune back some tree limbs. I noticed a 6 ft tall stalk with buds starting to open. A Hollyhock had found its way back through the other bushes. I am watching it daily in anticipation of full bloom.
I love Hollyhocks as much as I love roses. Both to me are the most romantic of flowers.
Enjoy a few vintage postcards with pictures that will delight you! These are from my collection of antique garden postcards. If only my yard looked like these...!
I like to think this is my in my garden. The gal in the lower corner with her dark hair, my vision of how I would look gardening in Victorian times!
A dream of life in a garden!
