At the front of the house is a small apron of elderly concrete. Last summer while I was collecting seeds from the seed pods of our hollyhocks some "escaped" and ended up in some small cracks.
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| Concrete busting hollyhocks |
The hollyhock seeds sprouted and have now grown and, in doing so, have broken the concrete wide open. Like the others also at the front of the house they are flowering a lovely cerise pink. We didn't have the heart to remove the escapees and they are included in the daily pot/window box watering round.
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| Cerise pink flower |
A few days ago while watering I noticed a movement and a small toad poked his head out to enjoy the unexpected "rain".
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| You can just see a bit of a hollyhock stem top left |
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| Toad in the hole |
The heat [35C today on our thermometer, northside of the house, never any sun] also made a groupie out of a map butterfly the other day.
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| Map butterfly on Niall's back, proboscis extended |
It simply couldn't get enough of Niall's damp salty skin and kept tickling him with its proboscis as it alighted on his back, arm or shoulder. For about 1/2 hr it kept revisiting every minute or so.
10 comments:
WOW! That's hot.
It's cooler in the UK today which isvery welcome. See you soon.
@Gaynor - it is expected to stay 33-35C for the next 2 days or so and then drop to mid/high 20s according to the Meteociel site.
Looking forward to catching up :-)
Thunderstorm tonight in Deux Sevres...
I tried growing hollihocks here, but was not successful. You have the right key to being successful, though - you water them!
@Fly - all quiet here. We did have one a few nights ago complete with torrential downpour.
@Vera - only because they are en-route from 1 set of pots to another :-) The 'parent' doesn't get any water and is doing just as well .... go figure!
I love hollyhocks, probably because they are related to hibiscus (I think) which I miss growing. Amazingly, my hollyhocks are thriving up here in bonnie Ecosse - so they are hardy plants. 35C is too hot - 25C here is plenty hot enough! Stay cool.
@Craig - we have fans running upstairs which helps considerably.
I remember hibiscus in the back garden when I was a child in LA [as well as picking grapefruit for my b'fast off the tree next to the kitchen door :-)
it comes to something when our bodies as well as our gardens become a wildlife sanctuary. :-) Super photos.
@Perpetua - Niall had to sit leaning forward while he was reading as the butterfly refused to move :-)
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