Country diary: Giants of the garden, our hollyhocks grow where they like | Susie White

Allendale, Northumberland: Their sheer presence makes them a source of delight, and they've taken root in unlikely places. Now it's time to collect their seedsIn the first storm of autumn, their huge, pliable stems rock and sway, but none are toppled. These hollyhocks, grown 10ft tall since spring, are survivors, delighting me for many months. I'm loth to cut them down, shrivel-leaved as they are, because they still give so much height.My grandchildren ran between them in the summer holidays. Red admirals and peacocks settled on their floppy petals. Bumblebees nosed up into their large flowers, sheltered from the rain by the downward facing trumpets of hibiscus-like blooms. Angle shades moths came to the light of the moth trap, their caterpillars having fed on hollyhock leaves. Continue reading...