Holy hollyhocks, Batman!

I love hollyhocks. The riotous color reaching to the sky! Nothing says cottage garden like a flock of hollyhocks massed against a picket fence.

I used to have hollyhocks at our old house - a dear friend have brought over some of her plants that were extras - they were plentiful and sturdy and provided a plethora of babies every spring. When we moved, I was so distracted by all the machinations of moving I completely forgot about the hollyhocks and a few special roses that we had there.

Sometimes I think about sneaking back there, in the night, wearing black and carrying a shovel . . . but something keeps me back. Probably my husband. And the thought of explaining to whoever caught me what exactly I was doing.

So I have tried two summers in a row to grow hollyhocks from seed. Nothing has sprouted. Nothing. I was suprised when I found this bag in Costco last month, and decided to take a chance on it.



It couldn't be seeds, and I knew hollyhocks didn't grow from bulbs or corms, so what was inside there? Last week, I found out.



They are a root system with a little plant starting to grow on top. Well, if I didn't kill them planting them, I should get some hollyhocks! Lots of them, I hope - there were 24 of these little guys in the package. We will see what grows.

And if they don't, well . . . maybe you will hear on the news of a woman being arrested in Edmonds, dressed all in black carrying weapons she asserted were gardening tools, professing she was just "reclaiming" her hollyhocks.