Right now the hollyhocks are prettier than ever before, and I guess we can thank the rain. By mid-July, the bloomed out stalks are usually drooping over like dry scarecrows. The flowers were gleaming like jewels in the sun yesterday. After so much gloomy weather, we finally have a beautiful weekend ahead-- sunny and warm but not hot or humid. Who could ask for anything more in Seattle? When the sick lady finally jumps out of bed, she's stunning.The common name for hollyhock comes from the words "holy" and "hoc." Holy suggests a blessed healing herb, and the word hoc means mallow, which is a type of plant. Hollyhocks have been used medicinally for diverse ailments, including reducing swelling in a horse's "hock." So the origin of the name is a mystery according to my favorite flower reference book, A Contemplation Upon Flowers.
For many of us, hollyhocks are an evocative childhood flower and we remember playing with them in some neglected corner of the yard or alley. No one cared if we pulled them apart to make dolls, because they were tough plants that came back every year. On our old Pennsylvania farm, hollyhocks grew along a fence between the outhouse and the barn.
Nothing fancier than a stick and childhood imagination is needed to make a hollyhock doll:
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