What's In My Garden? Hollyhocks. And more! A post by Thea McGinnis

I'm not one to complain about rain. Rain and gardens are very good friends. And rain gives me the best of excuses for having an at-home day and getting some belated writing done. Of course, with all these showers, and lots of warm weather, I've got more than enough weeds but one must take the good with the bad, right?  So, what's been growing in my garden lately, besides weeds:

Hollyhocks! (Alcea rosea)  This one's a real looker.

I get plenty of folks who will stop off and ask me what they are. They are what some call an old-fashioned plant.  They definitely have  a place in cottage gardens and less formal beds. Although, I have found they are a plus in defining the architecture of a garden because they grow straight and tall, with attractive foliage, widening toward the bottom. They flower from the top down along the stalk. They are showy but not pushy.  In a previous garden of mine, I planted them on a corner of the house, like a traffic sign. Here in this picture, my friend, Sheila, lets her hollyhock speak for itself.

Your eye was captured by the hollyhock,  travel down the length of the plant. Then you'd check out the porch side of the house planted with roses, lavender, sweet peas, coreopsis and swaths of silver king artemesia (a bit invasive but spectacular in floral designs).  The other direction was more dark green shrubbery and lots and lots of cranesbill geraniums of a mysteriously glowing blue flowers.

Cranesbill geranium is a favorite of mine

Hollyhocks are simple to grow, too. Just cast the seeds where you want them to grow! However,(there's always a however, yes?) I find them prone to rust and bug nibbling.

see how the lower leaves are bug bitten? Ugh

They might grow five to six feet tall, but the bottom leaves can be messy and unattractive.  The other issue I have with them is it takes forever to see flowers.  The first year, they just grow roots, stalk, and leaves. They winter over, then finish growing and bloom, generously reseeding themselves. So it takes a good three to four seasons before you can enjoy an eyeful of hollyhocks. They grow very much like foxgloves. Those beautiful foxgloves you get at the garden center are year two.  They, too, drop seeds but it takes a season or three to achieve the show off stage you want from them. I haven't had much luck with foxglove from seed or from the garden center, although I find them quite lovely. Their flowers are like freckled fairy hats. Foxgloves are classified as biennials (Biennial means that the plant's biological life cycle takes two years. Hollyhocks are supposedly perennials.  But, for me, having grown them, they grow like biennials.

Foxglove

My friend, Rosette, decided to grow a dedicated garden bed full of assorted color hollyhock. The bed was against her lovely white farm house in the country.  She gifted me a baby food jar full of seeds for my garden and I've kept it in the freezer until I get around to clearing some space in my garden. They do require full sun and like well drained soil. You can see how nice they show en masse.

Another garden favorite of mine that Rosette gave me is a perennial Verbena (Verbena bonariensis). It also reseeds itself.  My verbena likes to wave in the wind showing off her purple sign of peace. Even though they grow tall wands, they don't block other plants so you can grow them anywhere in your bed, front to back.

So, what else is growing right now? I've got lilies, and some lovely native monarda (Monarda fistulosa L.) It's also invasive so plant only if you want a swath and you don't care if it takes over most of a bed. I have to ruthlessly pull.  It's easy to share with friends as is the Verbena and Gooseneck. Hey, what are friends for? But share with warning.

I've also got milkweed. This milkweed was given to me at garden club and it's quite pretty. I've put it right next to my over seeded zinnia beds. I plant them both especially for bees and butterflies.

Enough about my garden. What about yours? If you are of a mind, send me a photo of something in your garden you love. I'll post them on Fridays. Identify the plant or insect if you can. Send your photos to ncagardenclubblogger@gmail.com

Have a wonderful July!  Talk to you soon ~ Thea

Thea McGinnis is a member of Rock Spring Garden Club in Arlington, Virginia, NCAGC District III, and writes and administrates this blog and the Facebook pages of both her club and District III. Visit both as they are chock full of interesting information about gardening.