Hollyhocks in a Thai temple garden in India.
When I was India I got so excited to see the tall stalks of hollyhocks growing in the temple garden. I was surprised at how many flowers I knew from home were in the garden, I never associated India and Wisconsin with climates compatible with the same vegetation. It really starts the mind thinking on how the plants around us come to be there. What are truly native and what are the ones that are just so loved that we can’t imagine a garden without them? Hollyhocks will always remind me of home, especially my Grandma. Every year when the hollyhocks bloom my Grandma would make me hollyhock dolls, something her mother taught her to do and her mother before her taught her. When I saw these in India I couldn’t help but wonder if anyone ever figured out how to make hollyhock dolls there too. I love hollyhock dolls because they remind me of fairies. Now that they are blooming in my Grandmother’s yard too I can’t resist making one, after all it’s a tradition 🙂
Wing's Eye View 