By Maureen Gilmer
DIY--Do It Yourself NetworkSlavery was legal when Bazil Silkwood went south to visit a planter in Georgia. We can only imagine this Illinois businessman's horror at the injustice of slave labor in the 1830s.
Perhaps little ten year old Priscilla was living with her mother on that farm, or she may have been long separated from her by the sale of her family. Either way, she stuck in Silkwood's mind and stayed there.
Not long after, the plantation owner died and his property was sold. Pricilla managed to collect a quantity of hollyhock seeds from the slave quarters. These stout plants bore small pink flowers with maroon veins that were tiny compared to today's hollyhocks. Sold to a Cherokee chief, she cultivated the flowers at that new home among the Indians. In 1838 the Cherokee were forced down the Trail of Tears to the new Indian Territory in northeastern Oklahoma.
Along the way Priscilla encountered Bazil Silkwood who recognized the girl and purchased her from the Chief for one thousand dollars in gold.
Priscilla grew up a free woman with the Sikwoods as part of the family. They would raise sixteen orphans in all. She planted the hollyhocks again at the Silkwood Inn, which she inherited, and which was where she died in 1892.
The hollyhocks persisted at that site. In 1950, they came full circle when seed was sent to the daughter of the last chief of the Cherokees in Oklahoma. To this day they grow among the Cherokee homes and are named "Priscilla" after the girl who loved hollyhock.
But the hollyhock was cultivated long before Priscilla's day. Those we recognize today are believed to be of Asian origin, because they are depicted in Chinese art as early as the 9th century, symbolizing passing time. Plants have been cultivated in Europe for the past five hundred years with seed imported from China.
Some believe the name was derived from Crusaders, who carried seeds gathered in the Holy Land.
Hollyhocks really came into their own as garden plants during the Victorian era both in Britain and in America. Easily grown from seed, the old standard single strains were as reliable as Priscilla's flowers.
Inexpensive seed that was easy to send by mail made them a common sight on the frontier. Old photographs often depict these flowers against picket fences of homesteads and farms. This is because they are top-heavy plants that become unstable in the wind. Rather than staking they could be conveniently tied to a fence.
The Achilles heel of the plants is their "ugly shins". This is caused by discolored leaves, often spotted with rust and chewed by pests as the plant ages. This made them a staple for the back of beds and flower borders where shorter dahlias would cloak the bottom third.
Hollyhocks are marvelous flowers to grow from seed because they produce a big, satisfying plant.
They germinate easily, and at the end of the season you can collect seed for next year.
Log on to Jung Quality Seeds for a good offering of single and double flowered varieties to get you started at www.jungseed.com.
Among their great offerings is the vigorous black hollyhock that that once grew for Thomas Jefferson at Montecello. There is also the Crem De Cassis in a fabulous shade of rosy purple.
Take a look at their Hollyhock Single Old Fashioned Mix. This is a perfect starter sampler with a striking array of other luscious colors. The old single flowered strains that haven't been dwarfed by breeding are guaranteed to be the highlight of your summer garden.
Hollyhocks belong in American gardens. They have stood against cabin walls and picket fences since colonial times. Whether saved by little slave girls, or gathered by a first time homeowner in Des Moines, these are flowers to capture your heart and ignite a passion for plants.
(Maureen Gilmer is a horticulturist and host of "Weekend Gardening" on DIY-Do It Yourself Network. E-mail her at mo@moplants.com. For more information, visit : www.moplants.com or : www.DIYNetwork.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
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