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| Cerrillos, New Mexico 1997 |
Some years ago on our first trip to New Mexico, we saw these hollyhocks blooming in the little town of Cerrillos along the Turquoise Trail that runs between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. I never forgot the sight and hoped to have some hollyhocks of my own someday.
I feel so lucky that my wish came true. We not only have our hollyhocks, but we also have some warm adobe walls to give us shelter and to act as a background for our flowers.
All of these hollyhocks and the ones out in the back of the house are descendants from a little handful of seeds given to me by my knitting friend, Diane. That was maybe four years ago. Many of you who are reading this have received seeds in the mail from me; relatives of these hollyhocks are growing all around New Mexico and in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia.
The original plants from the first year have spread and spread. Little seedlings spring up in unusual places. Sometimes I move them to a better spot, and sometimes I just let nature take its course.
The new hollyhocks fill in empty spots where I haven't been able to grow other plants. They don't seem to care if I forget to water them, although they do appreciate every drop they get.
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| The original plants from 2011 are still going strong although they are not as tall as their daughters |
The flowers catch the early morning light in a way that makes my heart glad.
It is very hard to capture that with my little cell phone camera.
It feels to me that this colorful garden is a culmination of a lifetime of hard work and planning--not planning for flowers, but for retirement and a place to live in the sun.
The flowers just make this part of our lives even more lovely.
6 comments:
Oh, I do love the flowers and your photos are terrific as always!! So good to see your post today!! Thanks for sharing!! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!
I don't know if I've ever seen hollyhocks look so beautiful as they do with your house as background. The color! You must just love your place. And I guess no Japanese beetles out there???
Thank you for admiring the flowers, Sylvia and Nan. They are really making the place look enchanted this year, all with very little effort on my part. Nan, we don't have Japanese beetles, and we don't have hollyhock rust, whatever that may be. However, as you can imagine, we do have a lot of other interesting critters here!
Lovely flowers that don't seem to mind the odd neglectful day??
Sounds like my kind of blooms!
Enchanted is the word! I drove by your house a while ago and I wanted to invite myself in and wander into the middle of all of those beautiful colors. It's just breath taking, literally - I quietly gasped when I came around the corner of Dona Ana & Lopez and saw it and then realized several seconds later as I continued toward home that I was still holding my breath. It's magical.
Enchanting is definitely the right word. Perfect flower for your home -- which is itself perfect for where it is -- and for you two!
Really a sweet meditation on the joys of making a home in the place where your heart and soul belong!
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