Monday, November 10, 2008

Hollyhock Skyscraper Demolition



It's cold and cloudy outside and a bit damp after yesterday's all-day rain. That doesn't keep Ed out of the garden. The broccoli got composted. Time is not going to make it smell any better. Next he decided to cut off the flower stalk of our garden skyscraper.This demolition was scheduled weeks ago, but the plant continued to flower. With growth at the base there is a good chance it will return next year. After considering the chainsaw, the big loppers were chosen for the job.




So how big is this hollyhock? Let me see, if Ed is 6' 3", and the hollyhock is more than twice his height then...




There's nothing quite like a tape measure to answer these difficult math problems. No cheating, I promise!  I saved a few more seeds, but most of the seeds have been scattered in the garden. Ed went off toward the compost with the hollyhock and his loppers. He'll be cutting it up into shorter lengths to fit it in the compost bin. I headed back in the house, stopping just long enough to watch a crow harassing a beautiful red tail hawk in the sky over the garden. I know why the crows hate hawks, but I can't help wondering why the hawks put up with such abuse.

7 comments:

Zoë said...

That's one huge hollyhock, what on earth did you feed it?

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

Amazing! Did you by any chance count the seeds :-)
TYRA'S GARDEN

Anonymous said...

That's one gigantic hollyhock! I've never seen one close to that tall! Kudos. :)

Anonymous said...

why do the crows hate the hawk?

Ottawa Gardener said...

That was some hollyhock!

Becky said...

It's Ed's amended soil that does it. I didn't count the seeds, but every flower all the way up the stem had some. Crows hate hawks because they raid their nests and eat the eggs or baby crows. The parents and their friends resent it.

tina said...

WOW!