Hollyhocks are giving a wonderful display in our streets and front gardens this year.
Their ability to grow in such tricky conditions never fails to astound and delight me.
On a recent trip to France in June (postings to follow soon on some amazing gardens visited) we stayed in a B&B in Chartres with Jean-Loup Cuisiniez (above) and his wife and met a kindred greener-upper-of the-city. Jean-Loup has been strategically sprinkling Hollyhock seeds around Chartres and has a fair few plants growing in a car park (above),
and along his street. He’s promised to send me pics when they’re all in flower. Jean-Loup is in discussions with the local council about making more paths public rights of way to create easier walking routes throughout Chartres and he also wants to adorn the streets near the Cathedral with roses.
I nodded sagely as he explained his aspsirations, but it wasn’t until we visited the Rose Festival in Chedigny, a village in the Loire near Loches, that I really understood what this could mean.
Every wall in the village was covered in these glorious climbers and ramblers,
with labels letting you know the variety. How bloomin’ marvellous.
The Rose Festival is the brainchild of Mayor Pierre Loualt who started the project in 1998, working with French rose specialist André Eve to plant over 700 roses in the village. The festival takes place over two days every year with specialist nurseries setting up stalls,
but you can happily wander through the village at other times to enjoy this marvellous rose extravaganza.
Both sights and scents were truly inspirational, and, although our North London manor doesn’t quite conjure up the bucolic bliss of the Loire, I’m wondering if we could start some similar rose planting in our streets in Finsbury Park?
Lovely post. What a great idea. Really enjoyed reading it and looking at your pics. Thanks
Hi Joan, Glad you enjoyed the post. Street plating really makes an area looked so much more loved and friendly.
Great post. What a lovely idea filling streets with roses and hollyhocks.
Hi Chloris, yes, streets looking very floriferous at this time of the year and then we’ll plant bulbs in autumn for some spring colour too.
Gorgeous and what a difference plants make to pavements in urban areas. We are increasing our display here whilst keeping a beady eye out for the sprayers.
Hi Sue, yes, these plants really brighten up our streets. We haven’t had problems with the council mistakenly chopping anything for a couple of years now and they encourage the greening of the area, so long may that continue!
I suspect that our local councils are far too afraid of being sued to allow roses anywhere near public footpaths.
Hollyhock seeding tree pits would be a great idea, though. They’re good at surviving in dry and thankless conditions – perfect.
Hi Diana, I was thinking more of planting roses in our front gardens as most have a patch of earth and continuing to plant up tree pits with Hollyhocks-they are so brilliant and drought tolerant.
I thought you would be interested to know that we have some active ‘greeners’ up here as well (not me, but I am an active appreciater). There have been lovely red poppies and other plants, though I don’t have any pics. In addition, Manchester City Council have planted wild flowers on the central reservation of one of the main roads leading into Manchester from the motorway in the South and it looks pretty good in places. Hope you are well. Love Rachel xx
Hi Rachel, lovely to hear that lots of other cities are greening up areas. Flowers near the motorway can only be a good thing!
Great picture of the hollyhocks, Naomi! I don’t know about roses though; don’t you have to do something with those? The hollyhocks seem to grow despite me rather than because of my efforts – and they even have the grace to reproduce and self seed so that they look even better the following year. Do the self seeded red ones in one of my compost bags come from one of the red flowered plants further up the street or can they mutate and be a different colour from the yellow presumed parent flower in the tree pit nearest to them? Julia
Hi Julia, Hollyhocks are quite promiscuous, but I should imagine your red hollyhock came from the plant a little further down the street. Having said that, wouldn’t it be great to collect the seeds from the yellow hollyhock, plant up a whole field of them and see what the results were. Know anyone with a spare field?
The Roses. Mmm, yes, there will involve a little bit more work than the hollyhocks, such as putting up wires and some winter pruning, but the results would be stunning. Let’s talk about this!! N x
Love this idea, there are patches everywhere as one starts to look… I think your bnb link is missing a w in the adress.
Hi Louise, thanks for noticing faulty bnb link-now updated!
some lovelyideas.No luck with hollyhock seed butinspired to try again. LadbrokeGrove is quitefloriferous from Elgin Crescent to HollandPark Ave,. The corner of our garden square on Ladbroke Grove has rambling rector really rambling folowed by solanum crispum album, which I shall also try on the shady south east corner.Our hedge that side is a cotoneaster which is better than privet.
Hi Susan, I think Jean-Loup must be an excellent sprinkler of hollyhock seeds. Most of ours are started in pots in autumn and then planted out as plugs or small plants in spring. Always worth another try!
Yes, the hollyhocks are fab at the moment, on all the nearby streets. Very happy to go for your lovely rose idea. I think we’d have to organise help for people with putting up wires though. (And with pruning?)
Hi Nicolette, Yes, you’re right. Both putting up wires and pruning I think will require some extra neoighbourhood event type days, but I think we’d be able to organise this, and the streets could look amazing. Annie also suggested smaller roses for front gardens where putting up climbers might difficult? N x
Dear N,
Lovely pics of our little rue Ambler and its so English hollyhocks by the trees, many thanks, food for the soul for sure and the people walking by just love them too. I think that the front garden rose idea is an excellent one and really not that hard to get going or to look after. We’ll talk. Yr pics of the French roses and villages in the Spring took us back to our fortnight this year in the Correze and Dordogne where the roses (climbers in particular) in May and early June were just breathtaking and everywhere too: public squares, people’s gardens, fences, up on old brick walls, you name it. Let’s try and look for some real French varieties too, if we do your rose scheme, pierre de ronsard, in particular. Thanks again.
Lv
Robert
Hi Robert, yes, roses were everywhere in France in June and what a delight! We also went to Chateau du Rivau in the Loire, as well as Chedigny, with over 450 fragrant roses on show. Have started making a list…….
What marvellous ideas for greening up otherwise dull urban streets. I’m delighted to have found your website, good luck with translating the concept in Finsbury Park.
Thanks Kate. Think this project may take some organising, but it would be wonderful to get it started this autumn…..we’ll see!
The hollyhocks and roses are a wonderful addition to street ‘furniture’ and your first pictures immediately reminded me of a holiday in France (Île de Ré) where every house seem to have hollyhocks growing along the base of their walls (often not even in obvious soil).
Hi Alison,Yes, hollyhocks are amazing plants. Must have a very long tap root. Jean-Loup’s seems to be growing out of concrete too!
Love seeing these by the coast in Norfolk along with other seaside favourites such as valerian and sisyrinchium, which makes me think that we could get planting some of these hardy plants in tree pits too.
One again I have enjoyed your page, it’s becoming like a friend dropping in on my day so thank you very much. I love the idea of dropping hollyhock seeds in random places, I think the naughty side of me is going to be doing it this autumn, proof that I really, really do need to get out more!
Hi Cheryl, I think in many gardeners, there is a hint of the obsessive and I too have collected hollyhock seeds when on holiday (most often at the seaside) and then spread the seed elsewhere. Stayed in a dingy house in France one year and sprinkled above seeds (which were still hanging out in the car) in the front gravel which was devoid of plant life-do wonder if they ever got the chance to come to fruition….
Really inspiring. Have been aiming to do that where I live but have to stop the council “taking out the weeds”.Lynn
Hi Lynn, We generally have a good relationship with our Council, but on the odd occasion, an over zealous street cleaner has cleared a whole tree pit (or two) of it’s herbaceous content. However, I think the more planting there is, the more it looks like it was meant to be there and the less likely to be removed. Always worth speaking to your local greenspace department if it keeps on happening. They may even help with a bit of funding….
Really nice! I agree, plants and grass make such a difference and can create a warm atmosphere.
Hi Max, street planting and floriferous front gardens can really transform an area for residents and passers-by alike. More tree pit planting planned for next year for an even friendlier neighbourhood….
I adore hollyhocks too, and it really is surprising how such large plants take hold in tiny cracks in the pavement. Vive Jean-Loup! Your street looks lovely too. Looking forward to hearing about the other French gardens.
Hi Helen, just working on a post about a couple of the gardens I visited in June. Where has the summer gone? Vive Jean-Loup indeed!! N x
very nice hooly hooks view