TINY TUESDAY - WHO KNEW.....

…..that the backs of Hollyhocks were so beautiful?  The seeds for some beautiful dark red Hollyhocks were sent to us three or four years ago by GallopingGran, a lovely Blip friend, and although Mr. HCB managed to nurture and grow the seeds, this is the first year the plants have flowered.

He was excited to show me them yesterday, so I decided that they deserved their 15 minutes of fame on Blip - so here is one of the buds.  When I looked at the back of the bud, I was amazed at how beautiful it was with the veins showing up well.  Interestingly, I have looked on the internet at many varieties of Hollyhock but none of them have shown the backs.

Apparently, Hollyhocks are biennial, which means they flower the second year after they are planted and although we have pink and yellow ones, we have never had this colour, so we will enjoy them while we can.  

I realise the the theme for Tiny Tuesday is “eye” so although this is nothing like an eye, they were seen with our eyes and were certainly a feast for them, so hope this will suffice.

I did ring and tell GallopingGran about our success with her seeds and she was delighted, but said that sadly this particular Hollyhock was no longer in her garden, so I have promised to send her back some seeds.  GG didn’t know the name of the seeds she sent us, but I wonder if it’s “Black Knight”, which is said to have sumptuous, very dark purple flowers that have a lovely, silky appearance.  Whatever it’s called, it’s beautiful, so we will name it "Galloping Gran" in her honour and hope it will go on blooming year after year to remind us of her.

The weather has certainly cooled down, which is a shame, as it is our next door neighbour’s birthday - so it will be a tea party today at 5 p.m. rather than just a cuppa at 4 p.m. and there may even be a wee drop of alcohol imbibed along with party food!  

“As inside of every seed 
     is the power to rise 
          from darkness, 
inside of everyone 
     is the power to rise 
          from adversity.” 
Matshona Dhliwayo