In an English (well, French) Country Garden

One of our favourite places on the coast is the lovely island, Ile de Ré. The island is home to a profusion of hollyhocks in every shade of pink, peach, primrose, deep reds and coral.

They grow from every conceivable nook and cranny....

 

 

 I've long wanted to grow some but, despite the lines in the familiar tune "In an English country garden..." I've not had much success.

I collected some of the seed from Ile de Ré last year and sowed it in trays in the garden. One seedling disappeared but to our surprise, a hollyhock grew up close to the garage entrance. We can only assume that this was the missing seedling, perhaps picked out by a bird and then dropped where it grew and in fact, flourished.

It is a glorious plant and now much taller than I am...

Gladly the other seedlings grew well too, and are now planted out so we have our own "English country garden" and, if I keep up with the seed collecting, a lasting souvenir of Ile de Ré!