Helpful Hollyhocks

I REMEMBER HOLLYHOCKS in my grandfather’s garden. They were tall and pink, and there was something wistful about them — as if by sitting with them I could somehow hear the echoes of children at play from a time beyond imagination.

Eventually, I realized that my imagination wasn’t far from the truth. The hollyhock has long resided in the gardens of humanity and has watched us at play on nearly every continent. The name “holy” hock may have originated from the belief that the plant came to England from the Far East after the Crusades, but there’s stronger evidence that it came to Europe from China in 1573.

HOLLYHOCKS THROUGH HISTORY

The common garden hollyhock () traveled all over the world during the Middle Ages because of its well-deserved reputation of being able to thrive in almost