Our Garden Skyscraper

New York City has the Empire State Building, the stone wall garden has this hollyhock. It is without a doubt the tallest thing in the garden. It even passed the smoke bush. Of course it's not taller than the house. That would be stretching it. To gain a little perspective, the metal post next to the hollyhock is six feet tall. OK, take off about six inches for the part driven into the ground.

The cause of this rampant growth is a mystery. The hollyhock is self planted on the line that separates the stone path and the planting bed. Half of the root mass is in the eight inch deep stone path. The other half is in the enriched planting bed. Has the plant been able to balance the great drainage with the rich nutrient load? Will we plant the seeds in like locations throughout the garden?


This is a tourist's eye view of the hollyhock. I stood at the base of the plant and turned my camera skyward, just like a tourist on the sidewalk would do at the base of the Empire State Building. So how tall is it really? One estimate is more than ten feet. I guess it's tall enough to make me collect seed from it to plant in the garden.