Evescafe

Type: Biennial

Height: About 2 to 8 feet tall.

Light: Full sunlight to part shade

What kids love: Learning to make holly hock dolls and summer hideouts.

What to grow?

Holly hocks are either annual (bloom in the same year they are planted), or biennial (blooming the second year after planting). You can sow the seeds of annual plants in early spring, or buy biennial plants that are already a year old. Some hollyhocks have simple, old fashioned looks, and others have dozens of rich, ruffly petals. They are mostly available in soft pink colours but you may find more vibrant ones at a local nursery.

For fun

Use the flowers to make hollyhock dolls like your grandma did as a girl. Or grow walls for a summer hide out. They can make good ground for war-games with one group on either side of the wall of plants holding territory. These plants can get really tall—up to 8 feet which makes them a good candidate for hollyhock houses.

How to make a hollyhock doll?

1. Invert a hollyhock for the skirt.
2. Give your doll a delicate head by attaching a flower bud to her hollyhock skirt with a toothpick.
3. Place a third flower on her “head” to look like a bonnet.