Surprise, it's a hollyhock

21 years ago

I've owned the house for two years now and as far as I can tell, the only interesting plant to appear has been dill. The house is around 100 years old but dill and two or three old bottles is about all I got so far.... until today!

This spring I had to dig down about three feet along the one side of the foundation. In the dirt pile that I made is a small hollyhock seedling coming along! The area was probably filled in about 10 years ago, so the seed has been buried for at least that long. I wonder how long they last in the ground?

I like these little links with history. It's like finding an antique under the floorboards. None of the neighbors have hollyhocks. I wonder what color it will be? I'll be annoyed if it's just another new weed.

Next year when it blooms I may tell my wife the story. If I do it now she'll just look down at the spot of green, look up at me and give me the blank stare.

Kato

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Comments (5)

Lavinia2
21 years ago
"Hope springs eternal"...after all, We Are Gardeners !
peggy1155
21 years ago
That's so cool! I had the birds bring me one last year! (Well, they must have brought the *undigested* seed) It is blooming like crazy this year. I never thought I would like hollyhocks but this one has been pretty nice.
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carol23_gw
21 years ago
Surprises like that are wonderful. I remember as a child seeing some hollyhocks , unplanted by humans, emerge in the garden on the side of the house. They turned out to be quite beautiful.
bulbs
21 years ago
I was surprised with hollyhock last year, so this spring was very happy to see it growing again; and have started some other colors from winter-sowing and put in ground near them. Not large enuf to bloom so far this summer, but sure looking forward to next year! They'll be beautiful with a couple different colors near each other.
katob Z6ish, NE Pa
Original Author
21 years ago
Thanks for the replies! Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself when I post..... I'm sure a few people look and say "who cares about a weed hollyhock that came up in a dirt pile". But those are the things that I find interesting!

I remember hollyhocks in my mother's garden. They seemed to do very well and were mostly perennial (I think, what did I know back then?).. at some point they died out and I never saw them again.

Now I'm wondering if the seed was brought in by some animal. I can't wait to see what color it is.
I actually did have two other plants that came up on their own. Two gloriosa daisies and 4 or 5 foxgloves. I just noticed a third black eyed susan this morning. I don't think they came in with other transplants, I think the seeds were "sleeping" in the soil.
I can almost hear my mom laughing, she weeds out tons of BE susans and foxglove each year, as I'm sure I will be doing in another season or two.

Maybe it's time for me to like hollyhocks again, I was going to try and work towards being a little more "refined" but right now I have room for everything! I have to see if I can dig out some hollyhock seed from an aunt in Germany. I wonder if they are still good?, they've been in a baggy since 1990 waiting for a chance to grow...