A while back, I wrote a blog on the fun notion of converting one of my raised-bed veggie gardens into a pollinator-friendly flower garden. I imagined this would bring a splash of color to the yard for most of the year. It became a fun project, and I loved the results.

I decided that the garden would have both perennial and annual flowering plants.  The perennials would endure over time, and I planned to replace the short-lived annuals with flowers that bloom each season of the year.  I first planted the perennials and waited to see how they evolved before deciding on which annuals to add.  Meanwhile, a mystery plant appeared in the area where I planned to plant the annuals.  I wondered how this plant ended up in my garden; maybe a seed was brought by birds, a breeze or a gnome that came to life one evening?

The plant did not look like any of the usual unwanted weeds, so I left it to grow to see what would turn out. It took a few seasons to finally bloom but became a very pleasant surprise! The plant grew tall narrow stalks that displayed strikingly white, cup-shaped flowers.  The flowers first emerged at the bottom of the stem and more appeared opening one at a time up, growing up the main stalk... It was beautiful!

Once it flowered, I started to recognize this plant on my walks throughout my neighborhood in Vacaville. I did some research and discovered that it is the Alcea rosea, commonly known as a Hollyhock.

Hollyhock plant in bloom - P. Pashby

Hollyhock plant in bloom 2 - P. Pashby

Some facts on Hollyhocks:

• They can grow up to six feet tall.
• They have a substantially long blooming period, from early summer through fall, between June and September.
• They start to blossom from the bottom of the stem and grow new blooms up the stalk one at a time, as I observed with the Hollyhock in my garden.
• They are “biennials”, completing their life span within two growing seasons. The first year, they tend to put energy into growing foliage and establishing their root system. The second year, they will bloom, generate seeds, and then die.

So now I have some new gardening decisions to make. If I let the Hollyhock go into bloom, it will self-seed and spread anywhere in the yard. The blooms are stunning, but the plant ended up taking a large space in my limited-size garden…I will move the plant somewhere else to continue its natural life cycle.

I find great pleasure in these garden discoveries. Hopefully, another mystery plant will come my way to explore in the near future.