Hollyhock

Well, yesterday was pretty miserable, after all. Ninety-degree heat with no air conditioning is not a fun thing. I spent a lot of time running around in the garden watering plants that were sagging in the relentless sun. Today is supposed to be better, with temperatures only getting up to 80º F (or 26º C).

But look at what's appeared in the garden -- a hollyhock! I grew this plant from seed and for the last couple of years it has languished without blooming. This year it sent up a stalk, so I was hopeful, but then the flower buds kept dropping off. Finally, finally, one of them opened -- and this is what we've got. I did not expect such a dark flower, but there it is.

I can't even remember where I got the seeds, to be honest. I think I picked up a pod from a stack of brush that had been cut down at the tube station.

Here's another picture I took later in the day. See the little fly, sheltering in the blossom? You know it's hot when even the flies need shade.

In between catching up on my New Yorkers, I managed to do a bit of garden work. I cut down all the flowering burdock, probably a bit prematurely, but it was past its prime and I was afraid it would re-seed if I allowed it to remain any longer. So now we have some bare spots, but there are also more burdock plants that didn't bloom this year -- they will overwinter and bloom next summer. We're not done with burdock.

Oh, and yes, Dave is back from the USA. He got home yesterday morning, got into his recliner and promptly fell asleep for most of the day. He awoke long enough for a wander around the garden and to order some Chipotle for dinner, and then he was asleep again. If there were a prize for competitive sleeping, Dave and Olga would be top contenders.