Celebrating gardens, photography and a creative life
Amsterdam’s tightly packed streets and waterways don’t leave much room for conventional gardens, but its gardeners don’t let their lack of land hold them back. I’m always struck by the number of hollyhocks that grow semi-wild there, any crack along the street providing anchorage.
Some hollyhocks lean so far over they flower barely ankle high, others wave flower-topped towers well over my head. Continue reading “Amsterdam: Street Flowers and More”
Anyone recommending erigeron and hollyhocks as companion plants would draw a few strange looks because of their disparity in habits, but they do look strangely suited in this pavement garden. Continue reading “Hollyhocks In The Cotswolds”
For most of us, I suspect, hollyhocks are a dream, but what a dream they are!
Ruffled blooms with a hint of crinoline have the old fashioned charm and romance we associate with cottage gardens. The leafy green buds, typical of the mallow family, are decorative too. Continue reading “Cottage Garden Plants: Hollyhocks”
The Tudor-style Tea Cottage at Arley Hall in Cheshire is a focal point leading the eye down a broad path. On either side of the path are cottage garden style flowers, such as these flailing hollyhocks, which grow alongside a collection of summer flowering shrub roses and extend the season of interest. The Tea Cottage has been superseded by The Gardener’s Kitchen, but is used for exhibitions, filming and weddings.
For more posts that include pictures from Arley Hall, click here.
A trio of trios in shades of pink: flamingos, roses and hollyhock flowers. Continue reading “Weekly photo challenge: pink trios”
Susan Rushton 