I love hollyhocks! They thrived in Iowa where I spent my childhood. My grandmother made hollyhock dolls for my sister and me. (The flowers made beautiful ball gowns). This was something she and her Swedish sisters did in the early 1900s when there was little money for store bought dolls.
Oh my goodness, Dianne -- as if hollyhocks themselves weren't magical enough, thank you so much for introducing me to the magic of hollyhock dolls 😍😍😍 I've just looked up photos of them and now I'm definitely going to have to try and make them with the girls here in Antwerp soon. What a beautiful tradition your grandmother brought with her from Sweden, and then shared with you 🤍🌸
Ahh I'm just loving this beautiful thread of memories that unfolded on the story last week, Julie -- how amazing that you all share the tradition of having made hollyhock dolls with your grandmothers 🌸🫶 Now I want to try it!
Maryann, I'm just delighted to hear that you also made hollyhock dolls! I'd somehow never heard of the tradition before, but now I will absolutely be trying to make them soon with the girls 🥰🌸🫶
I love hearing that, Susan! I can't believe I'd never heard of hollyhock dolls before, but now I will absolutely be trying to make them soon with the girls 🥰🌸✨
Have fun! We used toothpicks with round fruits like cherries for the heads, turned the hollyhocks upside down so the petals were skirts, stuck the toothpick through the center at the stem end to hold the head on, and danced the dolls around like ballerinas. :)
No matter our age or circumstances, we all need reminders of the strength and persistence of those hollyhocks. I don't believe I have ever seen one either, but I will start looking in the most impossible places. Thank you.
"I will start looking in the most impossible places." I absolutely love how you put that, Kathryn, and I'm so glad the hollyhock spoke to you as much as it's been speaking to me 🌸
Love hollyhocks. My first introduction to them was via my grandmother in Canada. And now, living in Denmark we're treated to a gorgeous season of them every summer, just as you've described 😍.
Ohh I'm so glad to hear that hollyhocks are a part of summer in Denmark as well. I didn't grow up with them in the US, but now I can't imagine June arriving without their towering blooms 🥰 Thanks so much for reading, Emily, and for your lovely comment.
This is fantastic! My mom grew hollyhocks in her front flower bed when my sister and I were kids. We used the leaves to decorate our snowmen because the plant lasted well into winter!
Ahh that's the best detail ever, Amanda -- a snowman clothed in hollyhock leaves 😍 Between your lovely comment, and the stories of many readers who made hollyhock dolls with their grandmothers growing up, I'm very tempted to put together a community love letter to hollyhocks :) Thanks so much as always for reading and being here! 🌸🤍
What gorgeous hollyhocks! They don't grow that tall in my garden, but then again, we do only get 12 inches of rain a year, so the conditions are a mite different.
I really love how they just pop up with their friends in Antwerp or Brussels! I'd forgotten. Magical surprise flowers towering to impossible heights :) thanks for sharing.
"Magical surprise flowers towering to impossible heights." I don't think there's a more perfect way to describe a hollyhock 🥰 I didn't grow up with them in the US, but now I can't imagine June arriving without their towering blooms. Thanks so much for reading, Jessica, and I hope you're holding up okay in this heat! 🌸🫶
they really are like little aliens! I'm doing ok I think for now, heatwise, but...this is everyone's reminder to go drink more water. Hope you're all surviving too
How beautiful they are. It looks like that crack along the side of the house is an intentional hollyhock planter. Wide enough for the seeds to be sown by hand. Sneaky and rebellious. I love it. About a week ago, I threw a packet of hollyhock seeds in the garden near the fence. I do hope they grow. There's daily water and good soil. I don't know. Maybe that's too refined for them. We'll see, though.
Ahh I'll have my fingers crossed for you, Sue! That sounds like a perfect spot for them, and please be sure to report back when your hollyhocks start to appear 😍🌸
What a beautiful way to consider the resilience needed for change in our lives - and the hollyhock is a beautiful representation of that. Many years ago, during a very stressful part of our family life, I chose the dandelion as a totem for the very same reason, it's ability to flourish in the cracks in the pavement. The hollyhock is far more splendid, but they both do the job.
Ahh that's so beautiful to hear, Cate -- what a meaningful symbol of strength for your family, and I love that the hollyhock and dandelion have that in common. They both hold so much wisdom for us, don't they? 🌸🫶
I love hollyhock yet have never been very successful in growing them. Have tried them in many different spots. Will wait to see if any show this year. 💗🕊️🙏🏻
Oh, thank you, now I know the name for this tall, persistent beauty! I kept walking by it every day in my previous place. Interesting symbology. I felt for a while uprooted but not now. Can't say anymore or just not now.
"Tall, persistent beauty" -- what a perfect way to describe a hollyhock, Alica. I'm so glad it's spoken to you too over the years, and I especially loved hearing that you feel more rooted in your life now. It's a feeling I've learned not to take for granted 🌸🫶
I love hollyhocks! They thrived in Iowa where I spent my childhood. My grandmother made hollyhock dolls for my sister and me. (The flowers made beautiful ball gowns). This was something she and her Swedish sisters did in the early 1900s when there was little money for store bought dolls.
Oh my goodness, Dianne -- as if hollyhocks themselves weren't magical enough, thank you so much for introducing me to the magic of hollyhock dolls 😍😍😍 I've just looked up photos of them and now I'm definitely going to have to try and make them with the girls here in Antwerp soon. What a beautiful tradition your grandmother brought with her from Sweden, and then shared with you 🤍🌸
Mine childhood attempts couldn't compare to Gram's.....
My Grandma Clark made dolls for us too. Awesomeness! I've never heard of anyone else with this shared memory. Nice!!
Ahh I'm just loving this beautiful thread of memories that unfolded on the story last week, Julie -- how amazing that you all share the tradition of having made hollyhock dolls with your grandmothers 🌸🫶 Now I want to try it!
This is how age old traditions still survive.....
Indeed! 🫶
We too made hollyhock dolls in my grandmother's garden! We had great balls with our creations.
Maryann, I'm just delighted to hear that you also made hollyhock dolls! I'd somehow never heard of the tradition before, but now I will absolutely be trying to make them soon with the girls 🥰🌸🫶
I made hollyhock dolls when I was a kid, so it's not just something your grandmothers did! :)
I love hearing that, Susan! I can't believe I'd never heard of hollyhock dolls before, but now I will absolutely be trying to make them soon with the girls 🥰🌸✨
Have fun! We used toothpicks with round fruits like cherries for the heads, turned the hollyhocks upside down so the petals were skirts, stuck the toothpick through the center at the stem end to hold the head on, and danced the dolls around like ballerinas. :)
Ohh thank you! That's a very helpful tip about how you made their heads, I'd been wondering :)
Small yarn pom poms work for heads too....
Grandmother....she was born in 1902.
No matter our age or circumstances, we all need reminders of the strength and persistence of those hollyhocks. I don't believe I have ever seen one either, but I will start looking in the most impossible places. Thank you.
"I will start looking in the most impossible places." I absolutely love how you put that, Kathryn, and I'm so glad the hollyhock spoke to you as much as it's been speaking to me 🌸
Love hollyhocks. My first introduction to them was via my grandmother in Canada. And now, living in Denmark we're treated to a gorgeous season of them every summer, just as you've described 😍.
Ohh I'm so glad to hear that hollyhocks are a part of summer in Denmark as well. I didn't grow up with them in the US, but now I can't imagine June arriving without their towering blooms 🥰 Thanks so much for reading, Emily, and for your lovely comment.
This is fantastic! My mom grew hollyhocks in her front flower bed when my sister and I were kids. We used the leaves to decorate our snowmen because the plant lasted well into winter!
Ahh that's the best detail ever, Amanda -- a snowman clothed in hollyhock leaves 😍 Between your lovely comment, and the stories of many readers who made hollyhock dolls with their grandmothers growing up, I'm very tempted to put together a community love letter to hollyhocks :) Thanks so much as always for reading and being here! 🌸🤍
What gorgeous hollyhocks! They don't grow that tall in my garden, but then again, we do only get 12 inches of rain a year, so the conditions are a mite different.
Yes! They are truly a sight to behold here in Antwerp, and know I'm sending some of their beauty and strength your way this week 😊🌸🤍
I really love how they just pop up with their friends in Antwerp or Brussels! I'd forgotten. Magical surprise flowers towering to impossible heights :) thanks for sharing.
"Magical surprise flowers towering to impossible heights." I don't think there's a more perfect way to describe a hollyhock 🥰 I didn't grow up with them in the US, but now I can't imagine June arriving without their towering blooms. Thanks so much for reading, Jessica, and I hope you're holding up okay in this heat! 🌸🫶
they really are like little aliens! I'm doing ok I think for now, heatwise, but...this is everyone's reminder to go drink more water. Hope you're all surviving too
How beautiful they are. It looks like that crack along the side of the house is an intentional hollyhock planter. Wide enough for the seeds to be sown by hand. Sneaky and rebellious. I love it. About a week ago, I threw a packet of hollyhock seeds in the garden near the fence. I do hope they grow. There's daily water and good soil. I don't know. Maybe that's too refined for them. We'll see, though.
Ahh I'll have my fingers crossed for you, Sue! That sounds like a perfect spot for them, and please be sure to report back when your hollyhocks start to appear 😍🌸
Thank you, Candace. Will do.
What a beautiful way to consider the resilience needed for change in our lives - and the hollyhock is a beautiful representation of that. Many years ago, during a very stressful part of our family life, I chose the dandelion as a totem for the very same reason, it's ability to flourish in the cracks in the pavement. The hollyhock is far more splendid, but they both do the job.
Ahh that's so beautiful to hear, Cate -- what a meaningful symbol of strength for your family, and I love that the hollyhock and dandelion have that in common. They both hold so much wisdom for us, don't they? 🌸🫶
Such a pretty flower, not one I see around here
Thank you, Jo! 🌸
Beautiful, like scrolling through a dream
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed this ✨
OH, beautiful photo!!
Thank you so much, Dianne! And thank you again for sharing about hollyhock dolls 🌸🫶
Your post brought back happy memories of my Gramma and childhood in Iowa.
This brought back memories of the hollyhocks of my childhood in an environment that not many plants would grow. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Mya -- I'm so glad this brought back good memories for you 🌸🫶
I love hollyhock yet have never been very successful in growing them. Have tried them in many different spots. Will wait to see if any show this year. 💗🕊️🙏🏻
I'll have my fingers crossed for you, Irene! 🌸🫶
So lovely.
Thank you, Mary Lou! 🌸🫶
Oh, thank you, now I know the name for this tall, persistent beauty! I kept walking by it every day in my previous place. Interesting symbology. I felt for a while uprooted but not now. Can't say anymore or just not now.
"Tall, persistent beauty" -- what a perfect way to describe a hollyhock, Alica. I'm so glad it's spoken to you too over the years, and I especially loved hearing that you feel more rooted in your life now. It's a feeling I've learned not to take for granted 🌸🫶