Lee wrote in Lee May's Gardening Life, a post in part about regional plant envy. It was a post about how as gardeners, we envy plants that grow elsewhere so much that we make futile attempts to grown them in our gardens. I have a friend who continues to try to grown potted azaleas in Santa Fe. Sometimes, I covet hydrangeas. However, I've never attempted to try to grow one here. My variation on the theme is not only do I envy plants that grow in other climes. I also envy plants of other gardeners that grow in Santa Fe, especially the hollyhocks below. 
As I've driven around the roundabout towards my house, I've seen these fantastic hollyhocks that tower towards the sky. They're over eight feet high. The owners live on the corner and they don't have a hell strip, but some large squares cut out of the concrete where they've planted hollyhocks. 
The white ones are lovely, too. Hollyhocks aren't hard to plant. They're one of the few plants that I've grown from seed, but mine have never looked this spectacular. 
Gorgeous! They pop up everywhere in my work garden - usually where they'll ruin the colour scheme. I don't always have the heart to pull them out though...
ReplyDeleteThey are lovely but they do tend to get powdery mildew up here so I don't use them but love to see others photos.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
Oh, my! I'm sure yellow is lovely, but I'm partial to pink and your photos confirm my opinion. Now that we live in a climate where rust and powdery mildew are not a problem (425 miles north of you; I think I mentioned that our daughter went to school in SF so we can pretty much count off the mile posts between here and there), I should try them. It's far from clear, however, that my results would begin to be as spectacular as these.
ReplyDeleteHollyhocks are just amazing. They grow in Vermont with no special care. They grow in New Mexico with no special care. Those two facts shouldn't both be possible! The bee in the first "solo" photo looks like it's dazed at its good fortune.
ReplyDeleteNow you've done it! With your fine post, you've given *me* hollyhock envy, too.
ReplyDelete@thesproutlingwrites - I have some popping up, too in my thyme spiral. I should replant soon.
ReplyDelete@Sunray - Cher, my asters always seem to get powdery mildew, but I've never had that problem with hollyhocks.
@Patricia - I've used neem oil or dormant oil on my asters. I don't know if it would help with the powdery mildew on the hollyhocks. Mine have never been as pretty as these either.
@Stacy - the bee looks like it rolled around in the pollen. I was amused by it, too.
ReplyDelete@Lee - thanks for the inspiration for this post. Stacy said they grow in Vermont. They might do well in CT.
I often find myself a victim of plant envy, but mostly because it would be too much of a pain to try to grow certain plants in pots because I can't dig in the yard...and soon won't have a yard to dig in at all. And I may very well end up with regional plant envy while I spend the next several years in northern Ohio instead of hot, familiar South Carolina.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, thanks for the link. I enjoyed it :)
Kwiaty trochę zapomniane. a lubiane przez nasze Babcie są piękne. Mnie do ogródka "przywiało zbłąkaną"malwę i mam ją już kilka lat. Pozdrawiam
ReplyDeleteThe hollyhocks are gorgeous. I don't think I've ever seen them growing in North Carolina, so now I have plant envy and regional plant envy. I saw them growing on an island in Denmark between cobblestones in front of tiny brightly painted houses. They were stunning.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I can see why the hollyhocks are popular as paintings and prints. Add to that, the bees appear to be quite attracted to them. Outstanding plants.
ReplyDeleteI love the almost black hollyhocks. I was given seed once, but I sprinkled it, and it didn't germinate. Too lazy to grow it in a pot.
ReplyDeleteMine either... Those are truly spectacular. I am having hollyhock envy too! Wonderful photography.
ReplyDeleteI love hollyhocks. I grew them in Madagascar and managed to really impress my gardener who thought this foreign women who insisted on digging in her own garden didn't know a thing (mostly true actually).
ReplyDeleteAs a frequent expatriate in Africa, I know a lot about wanting to grow something improbable from another region (my own). And now that I'm back in D.C., I want the bananas, papayas, and plumbago.
@Owen - Glad you liked the link. I'm always amazed what people can do with containers. I've seen a post where people grow gardens with shipping pallets. It's another perspective on vertical gardening.
ReplyDelete@Giga - I love how old fashioned the plants look and the sky here also has its own beauty.
@Sheila - My primroses, penstemon, and yarrow seem to reseed themselves in between rocks. Maybe, I'll make it Denmark one of these days and see the hollyhocks there.
@Aerie-el - The hollyhocks look like they're a bee's delight.
ReplyDelete@Carolyn - Putting seeds in pots is a challenge for me, too. I would probably save lots of money, but then I couldn't support my local nurseries as much.
@Masha - Thanks, I need to learn how to take photos of whites so they're not so washed out.
@Cindy - My Mom grows guavas, bananas and kumquats in New Orleans which seems exotic to me. I wish I could grow lemongrass here. I wonder if you could grow bananas in a container if you brought it in to winter.
The hollyhocks are divine! We have them in New England, but they aren't blooming quite yet. But I know why you love them so much!
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful! I have grown French hollyhocks, and I love them. I'm not sure if the others would do as well, but after seeing your photos, I want to try!
ReplyDelete@Cathy and Steve - Many plants grow later here. I'm surprised that hollyhocks don't. I think I have the same yellow trumpet vine that you showed in your May GBBD post, but mine only started blooming recently.
ReplyDelete@debsgarden - Some friends gave me a few French hollyhock volunteers they had, but they didn't come back for me. My friends have a more shaded yard than I do. Maybe, I should give them another try.
I like Hollyhocks but they almost always get rust in our climate. Your images of them are stunning.
ReplyDeletei wish i have hollyhocks too..i'd love to have them in my garden but i don't know if anyone has grown one in the philippines.
ReplyDeleteHollyhocks are worth another try, and another.
ReplyDelete@GWGT - Thanks Donna. I didn't want to stay out there too long taking photos and have people wondering what I was doing near the intersection.
ReplyDelete@Angel - Hmm, I wonder if they would tolerate the moisture in the Philippines. Thanks for visiting. I stopped by your blog, too.
@Nell - I have some volunteers in the wrong place. I should replant them and give them a go.
This flower is associated with my childhood. We waved him in parental garden. I like flowers.
ReplyDelete@mimi - Bridget, as Giga said, they're old fashioned. I have fond memories of them, but only as an adult.
ReplyDelete