March 6th, 2013
The letter this week is H, and continuing on the flower theme I considered Heliotrope, Hydrangea, Hibisucus, Hyacinth and Honeysuckle, - all lovely, and some a bit exotic.
But then I thought of the Hollyhock, memories of which stretch back to my very early childhood when they lined the walk along the side of the small bungalow we lived in when I was still very young.
They served as 'ball gowns' for a clover head when Anne and I dressed our bevy of belles for an imaginary fairy ball in the greenery at the bottom of the garden and somehow managed to inveigle their way into my heart - I have a great fondness for The Hollyhock, which has never really been allowed to blossom.
Somehow my love of Hollyhocks was not part of the gene pool and never got passed on to other members of the family who all concentrated on its invasive aspects and its inclination to develop rusty leaves around the hemline.
When we first moved to the farm I envisaged a mass of stately hollyhocks lining the long driveway to the house we had built at the foot of the mountain, but somehow the practicalities of raising a family and coping with all the (pleasureable) demands of a farm didn't leave me with enough enthusiasm for my dream to innoculate the children or 'himself '.
But we have always had a few hollyhocks in the garden, humble as they are in everybody else's opinion, and I am thinking how wonderful they would be along the fenceline in the back garden to provide privacy, and how their beautiful colours and lofty spires would blend in with the sunflowers which are also de rigueur.
What do you think?
For more interesting Hs visit here at ABC Wednesday, and be entertained and educated.
16 comments:
Magnificent holly hocks ~ I love them! ^_^ ~ Great photos ^_^
pretty flowers!
ROG, ABC Wednesday team
Lovely flowers!
Oh do!! Go Hollyhock and Sunflower crazy .... sounds beautiful.
Holly hocks are my favourite flowers. I love them and I am always disappointed when they don't appear every year. Thank you for showing these photos!
Hollyhocks are lovely flowers!
I should plant some this year, too!
Have a beautiful day!
Lea
Lea's Menagerie
Flowers in any name are always lovely :)
I love hollyhocks and use to grow a lot of them. They came back for years but when we had a severe drought they stopped coming back.
Oh do plant them Hildred! I remember making dolls from them when I was very little -- remember my mother teaching me how to do it in fact.
Beautiful pictures, wonderful memories, I'm so glad you chose this "H"!!.
I adore hollyhocks Hildred, but they are rather picky where they will grow and one or two gardens where I have tried them have been a complete failure. My philosophy about such things is that if you love it then cover your plot with it - then you can revel in the joy of seeing it all bloom.
Absolutely beautiful Lofty Spires.
IU think the lovely blossoms have a royal feel to them.
They are gorgeous - one of my favourite flowers! Have tried to grow them - but they don't come back after the first year.
They are so beautiful and their name matches somehow:) A lyrical name and a lyrical flower!
I planted some Hollyhock bulbs last fall--really excited to see how they do. Such beautiful flowers I remember my my growing.
Ann
I hope that the bulbs I planted will grow this year. Yours are gorgeous!
Haghpat Monastery, Armenia
Catching up with letter H entries.
Rose, ABC Wednesday Team
Did you ever make hollyhock dolls? My mom taught me how to do this as a small child. :-)
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