After years of trying on and off, I've finally gotten at least this far with one of my bugaboo plants: The hollyhocks are blooming! That might not seem like much to crow about, but given my failed efforts over the years to grow this seemingly effortless plant that I've blogged about here, this is a major victory in the small world that is my garden. After a few weeks of seeing the stems crowded with buds, they've finally broken open.
I can't declare total success just yet. It looks like some insect is going after the leaves of one of the plants, so I'll have to be vigilant. And I have yet to see if these biennials will make a return appearance and self sow. But baby steps. I'll take it for what it's worth and savor the blooms and sense of satisfaction of getting another chip off my gardening shoulder. First delphiniums, then astilbe, now hollyhocks.Time to exorcise another demon next year. What plant bugaboos have you overcome? Or are you wiser than me and just chalk it up to inappropriate conditions and move on?
