Evening star., 1932-07-09
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

| A suburban householder, whose house
! and garden are her pride. recently asked
her maid of all work how she liked
the grand display of hollyhocks.
| "Hollyhocks!" replied the girl, II
great disgust why, dey is poor folks
| fiowersl'
She did not realize that the modern
| idea as to the value of flowers does moi
rest in the least on money value, but
upon inherent worth and real beauty.
! Orchids are beautiful, not because
| they are thoroughly expensive, but oe-
cause they are beautiful.
! Hollyhocks are desirable old flowers,
, not because they do or do not cost q
great deal, but simply on account OF
their real loveliness.
They grow with equal success at the
door of the lowly cabin and in the
garden of the great estate. We have
seen them both places, and are unable
to say which planting was the best.
Wherever this admirable flower grows,
it is good, although 1t is better in some
situations than in others, OF course, a
restriction which applies to most flow
ers in some degree.
If there is one place in the world
where the idea Of money must be ruled
out. it is in the garden. both for the sake
of the gardener and ttc flowers, too.
Gardening is t.,6s oC 3upation Tor
which no man is TOO high or too low,
some one well said.
One of the finest small gardens we
ever saw was grown by an old colored
woman in the entire yard OF q very
small house in the midst of the city.
Some years ago it was way out but
the city grew up and past her. and she
IaFt .tith hpF unrHpT1 and little
house.
1t was not long before the inevitable
march of progress forced her out and
away. In this migration she lost most
of her beautiful plants.
Those who recall that garden, how
ever. with its tall spires of hollyhocks
and great and veritable bouquets Of 9TH
er flowers, know that it was thing OF
beauty, despite the poverty of its
creator.
The flowers she grew were well grown
She had the touch.
One might have gone directly from
this poor woman's garden to the formal
garden of a rich woman, and found
therein exactly the same old hollyhocks
and most Of the other plants grown In
the small place.
In fact, in the yard of a millionaire
not far from the old colored womans
place there were growing literally scores
Of hollyhocks, in a sort of naturalized
COLONY. evidently having been permitted
to seed themselves.
At hollyhock blooming time they were
a sight worth going many blocks to see,
not only because such a maSsed plant
ing Of this flower is somewhat unusual,
but because there were mixed in with
the usual pinks and reds and whites a
large number of yellow hollyhocks.
Those who have not seen the yellow
form of this old favorite have treat
In store for them. There are also on
the market a number Of pastel shades,
in the single form. which add variety.
Indeed. no garden can be said to be
complete without few hollyhocks. The
more one goes in" for rarer things the
more certain he is to return to the
hollyhocks, as veritable symbols OF all
those floral treasures which must never
be forgotten because they are common.
What is more beautiful than wall
against which nod the stately spires OF
hollyhocks?
or a dooryard. in which they grow?
One of the best places, on the average
place, for these tall-growing fellows is
against the sunny side Of a garage.
Many an otherwise ugly small building
S transformed by them during the Sum-
mer months.
The relation of this flower to the
althea and the hibiscus is easily seen
from a glance at the blossoms of the
trio.
They are amazingly similar, although
different, too, but the family resem-
blance is large.
The hollyhock is the Althea rosea Of
the scientist. 1t gets its name from the
old Saxon, holi plus hoe, which means
literally holy hoe, or holy (or whole)
malloW.
The "hoIlyhock" is type of the msl-