Hollyhocks

They're back. My beloved heavenly Hollyhocks are back in all their glory.
You see, these Hollyhocks were planted many, many years ago after coming back from a trip to California. I harvested a pail full of dried Hollyhock seeds from this beautiful college campus that Randy was singing at. And when I got back to Phoenix, I threw the seeds in the ground and never thought about them again till months later when they began to sprout upwards to 8 feet tall before they began to bloom. And bloom they did... profusely!


I was stunned. Every color and variety of Hollyhocks bloomed that year. I couldn't believe my eyes! I'd wake up every morning wondering what shade of pink, purple, red, yellow or peach would bloom. I even had several black hollyhocks. They were such a deep, dark purple that they called them black hollyhocks. I was so afraid that my very favorites wouldn't reseed for the next year, that I harvested, bottled and labeled every variety that I wanted preserved. Which was like all of them!



Well, I ended up packaging a lot of those seeds and giving them away as gifts because they ended up reseeding year after year anyway. But I still find myself harvesting the seeds each year... because, well, you never know.


The above photos were taken over the past couple years and the one below was taken this morning. Who knows what color or variety will await us when we return from England. And just maybe I will find some unusual Hollyhock seeds from England or Ireland to bring back and add to my seed collection. You see, all my plants and flowers have to tell a story. So, why not plant some memories from our travels abroad.


Oh, I redesigned my blog today. And I love it! And just in time for Spring!