A First!

This is the first time I have ever grown hollyhocks. Until a couple of years ago I didn't even know it was possible to grow them in Florida. I learned it was possible when I spotted them in a garden club's flowerbed at the local library. I was so taken by this towering beauty that I wrote down the name of the variety and set out to grow some of my own.

The first year I planted the seeds in September and watched them through the winter, but when spring came they didn't do anything. Soon summer arrived and the plants died out. Last summer, I planted seeds (summer carnival) a little earlier in August and planted them outdoors when the plants were a good size. In January I purchased a 4-pack of small plants and planted them in the garden as well. To my total delight the plants flourised and began to grow tall and set buds in early April. They have now been flowering for about two weeks.

Both the seeds that I planted and the plants I purchased at the nursery were the variety summer carnival. However, as you can see by the photos they are two very different varieties. The plant I grew from seeds is also different from these two. While it is the same pink color it is a single flower like the yellow one. When I think back to the one I saw at the library I seem to recall that it had several different shades of pink on one stalk???? I don't know which varieties these are, but I am enjoying their beautiful flowers immensely.