My hollyhocks have started blooming against the barn wall.
hollyhocks
I love the singles.
I love the surprises from year to year.
Always get happy to see them.
one last one.
Your hollyhocks are so pretty !
I lost mine to the drought/rabbit wars last year....must find some seeds for those singles.
Catherine
They are beautiful..... they say they are easy to grow ~ I've never been able to get one to bloom. My climate (or micro-climate) produces nothing but rusty leaves and no flowers..... so, I enjoy them from afar, and in places like this! Thanks for sharing!
Sanna
I get rust too and I've never had any luck with them till I moved to this former dairy farm with good light and old cow manure in the dirt. There is the shadow of a sliding door on that wall-it was the door to the milking room of the barn. Must have been a lot of traffic there. When I first got here it was all brambles. Once it was a garden, I had to choose between sunflowers, hollyhocks, or a big farmy mural. I figured I'd start with hollyhocks and if they failed....but they didn't!
I have seed for the pink single
boojum, I thought you had this one, but now I think you don't. It is paler than your pink, but darker than the very pale one. I'll start some for your singleHHwall for next year. How is that for faith? Patti
Remember, "Keep the faith, baby!" (Gosh, forgot about that one!) I think your faith really is great! Thanks, Patti!
I was going to ask what your secret was to growing hollyhocks, but I saw the manure part. Everyone says throw the seeds out on the ground in the fall or the early spring and they will grow. I've tried both and so far both methods have failed for me.
I stopped at a roadside stand last week and bought two hollyhock plants the woman had and put them in the spot I keep throwing the seed down......lol. We'll see if they live and are inspired to greatness. The woman lives near me and basically the soil medium in the pots looked the same as mine...very sandy. Although every year I try to amend a little more. Nobody was home so I wasn't able to pry any gardening secrets out of her. She had the plants out with a self pay pickle jar.
Perhaps I should throw a patch of seed down on an area that is very heavy with composted manure and see if that makes a difference.
Thankyou for the beautiful pics!!! Hope you might consider some seeds in the fall for sase....lol
~Julie =0)
I'll definitely have seeds. Remind me!
There are more open today but I haven't taken pics yet.
jab- maybe it is the zone you are in, or (more likely), something is eating the seeds?
Some new ones.
I remember taking these seeds from a friend. Very pleased that it "took."
The hollyhock garden today.
I am so envious, great pics I to try them every year I understand they are biennials but the second year they never return Maybe I should just try throwing some seed in the manure pile Thanks for sharing!!
Boojum, I love, love that pale yellow one. Could be my favorite ever! More rain today. Patti
Not here. I wish I could be here for your swoon when you see the peach/yellow one in person tomorrow-no rain predicted BTW.
hey bojum, if i remind you...will you send some of those seeds to me ? ;) will send a sase, next year will be able to do "trades" but just starting out. thanks - jon
Fine!
Hi boojum- mine are really blooming here in Mn. too. Have a few different colors- this hot pink is soo bright!!
The white is nice too-
This is the med. pink
this is a pale pink
Last one for now a pale cream not quite yellow- Yes I save the seed too and share it for a sase. I have seed from last year but it is mixed- not sep. by colors. If you start it this summer/fall you will have flowers next summer. I saw a bright geranium red H.H. in a neighbors yard will try to get seed from that too. Boojum thanks for starting this I just love these old fashioned garden flowers. Kathy
Kathy your hollyhocks are gorgeous - expect an envelope from me in the mail soon!
Catherine
Great hhs, Kathy! Really like the white one-maybe I'll get seeds from you for next year. Anyone else have pics?
Will hollyhocks bloom the first year? My Mother has some beautiful plants but no blooms.
Lin
only if your growing season is really really long and they were started really really early. Typically they grow during the cooler weather and bloom the next year when it gets hot.
I loved them skirted with petunias. They get bare ankles as they bloom.
boojum,
Why didn't you bring any of those to the Springfield Roound-up? Why, why, why! WHY, BOOJUM, WHY? WHY WHY WHY WHY? WHY WHY WHY WHY?! IT'S NOT FAIR! EVERYONE ELSE'S HH ARE BLOOMING! (she's been removed in a strait-jacket, sorry for the inconvenience, folks.)
This message was edited Jul 7, 2006 3:51 PM
We do have a very long bloom season and her hollyhocks were planted really early. So maybe we will see blooms before the season ends. If not hopefully next year. The plants look wonderful.
My Mother has plenty of petunias to skirt the HHs with.
Lin
Loved all the hollyhock pics. I have a few 'volunteers' coming up, but I need that beautiful white barn for their backdrop!
I googled 'hollyhock culture' to find out exactly how to grow them and found this interesting information about their culinary uses from the "Pioneer Thinking" site:
(Hollyhock) Edible Uses:
Flowers; Leaves; Root; Stem; Tea.
Young leaves - raw or cooked. A mild flavour, but the texture leaves something to be desired. They have been used as a pot-herb, though they are not particularly palatable. They can also be chopped up finely and added to salads.
Inner portion of young stems - raw.
Flower petals and flower buds - raw. Added to salads.
A nutritious starch is obtained from the root.
A refreshing tea is made from the flower petals.
I suppose you can try all of the above if the hollyhocks haven't been subjected to herbicides and fungicides, etc. That wouldn't be a "good thing".
Maybe I'll put a few hollyhock petals around the potato salad tonight!
Carrie,
Sorry, who knew!? Didn't have any babies-just monsters. I will know better next year! I will just have to search under the leaves for babies. Hope you are calm by now. (How's the old pulse? :)
I'm feeling peaceful, I'm thinking calm thoughts, I'm finding my inner center... I think.
xxxxx,
Carrie
Focus on your breath. (Well, that never worked for me, but all my zen friends swear by it!)
I have a black, ignore my windows,,, got soap on them to keep the birds away...
Viv
Wow! Blacker than mine! nice, vizz.
Beautiful! I love hollyhocks. Mine bloom but never come back