Saturday Magazine - 03.09.2019

HOLLYHOCK HEAVEN

I

love ’olly ’ocks.

Sorry... I

mean I love

hollyhocks

• but it’s such a
  delightful name
  that it doesn’t
  really matter how you say it.
  I sowed a batch of them several
  years ago and their progeny keep
  coming up year after year to open
  their trumpets of crimson, yellow,
  salmon pink and white during
  July and August.
  Be aware, though, that
  hollyhocks are martyrs to a disease
  called rust. It looks exactly as you
  would expect – rusty pustules on
  the underside of the leaves – and
  manifests itself as orange dots on
  the surface. The older the plant,
  the more acute the damage, but
  instead of spraying, just make
  sure the plants have decent soil
  and don’t go short of water.

If you

grow a

group of

smaller

plants in front

of them –

penstemons, say – the legs of the

hollyhocks will be masked and no

one will be any the wiser. Seeds

can be sown now and the plants

grown on to flower next summer.

Alcea rosea is the plant’s Latin

name, but you will find it listed

simply as hollyhock in seed

catalogues. The single varieties

are the ones I love – and the

ones that are valuable to bees

and butterflies.

If you can’t be bothered to

grow hollyhocks as biennials,

then sow the seeds of a variety

such as ‘Summer Carnival’ in

early spring. They will flower

the same year, although they are

rather shorter than the 7-8ft

spires of the longer-lived varieties.

I say longer-lived since, although

the plants are often treated

as biennials, they are really

short-lived perennials – lasting

up to three or four years.

But it matters not which

kind you grow. They will all

add their romantic, cottagey

air to your garden and you will

come to love your ’olly ’ocks just

as much as I do.

SATURDAY MAGAZINE 65

Pictures: Getty Images; English Heritage

No traditional cottage garden

would be complete without

the tall, graceful spires

of hollyhocks...

‘I sowed a

batch years

ago and their

progeny keep

coming up year

after year to open

their colourful

trumpets’

BRIGHT BLOOMS

attract bees

and butterflies

MIXING SHADES is

a winning combination

SATURDAY MAGAZINE 65

GARDENING

● Don’t miss Alan’s gardening column

and Tip Of The Day every weekday in

the Daily Express.

THE GREAT

OUTDOORS

PLANT

OF THE

WEEK

Seeds

of success

These stunning mixed

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through bad weather to bring

colour to any border display.

Order 15 mixed tulips for

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Order online at shop.express.

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Newspapers to Express

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Fit for a queen

It’s 200 years since the birth of

Queen Victoria, and English

Heritage is celebrating this at

her holiday home on the Isle

of Wight. Visitors to Osborne

House can access her gardens

and apartments and there’s a

Punch & Judy show every day

until September 1. Open daily

from 10am to 6pm, tickets cost

£18.50 for adults and £11.10

for children. Members go free.

Call 0370 333 1181 or visit

english-heritage.org.uk.