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Garden journal entry |
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October 22, 2012. Offspring from the 'Zebrina' hollyhock mallow I bought in my first season of gardening is still with us many years later. By now, I never know where it will pop up – it's almost a weed in our garden, since I rogue out most of the seedlings that emerge in spring. The plant, like its cousin the hollyhock, is coarse-leaved, and early on in the season just gets in the way and takes up space – space that I'm trying to fill with all kinds of exciting new seedlings and young perennials. But inevitably, a few plants escape my attention – and that's a good thing, in fact I count on it, because I wouldn't want to be rid of the gaudy blooms of Miss Mallow altogether. I was reminded of that again this weekend, when on a balmy-breezy stroll through the decided fall-tinted garden this specimen suddenly caught my eye. How the heck did I miss that the whole summer, right in the middle of the curve garden? Beats me – but it's a fun statement in the garden right now, with most of the other plants in the midst of shutting themselves down for the season. So I hope it drops some seed – or that the seed store left by its ancestors is not yet exhausted from our garden. |
Visitors to this page have left the following commentsSarah | Jan 23, 2013 | So, I found your site yesterday while researching specific seed starting techniques. I'm so very glad to have found it! When I began gardening 3 springs ago, I had no idea what I was getting into. (The first plants were only an attempt to make my sad yard appear festive for my daughters birthday in late April) Little did I know the can I had opened for myself. The Mallow you've pictured here is one of my favorite flowers. I have many a picture of this (striking it is) and I always loved how the flower sort of peeks out at you. This is one of the first plants I started successfully from seed, and then of course I found this past spring just how they multiplied. Alas, this past fall, we moved into a much larger house, with a far site more land, and though I brought many plants with us, I'm basically starting from scratch, i.e. SEED.
You may agree with me on this: I recently said to someone :
Something happens to you. Something indescribable happens when you plant a seed, and you watch it as it curls out of its hard shell & the roots push down into the potting mix and you see the stem begin to straighten and finally the first leaves emerge, and you watch, and you wait, (somewhat impatiently) and then, one day, what seems forever long, the first bud appears, and again you watch, and you wait, and when the bud begins to split & the first speck of color appears...
Something happens to you, inside. You're forever changed. It's a drug, and you're hooked.
Well, I've rambled far long enough. Thanks for lending a listening ear. (Or a reading eye, as the case may be) Glad to hear from another seedaholic :-) |
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