July 9, 2024, Tuesday — Hollyhock, fertility flower. Ahh, it makes total sense. Erect stalks shooting skyward, the flowers exploding open, sequentially, one per day till they reach the sky. This flower is like Fourth of July only much more sensible! With the added benefit that hollyhocks are also known to attract abundance and happiness, and replace the blues with motivation and ambition.
The hollyhock name comes from Old English words “holy” and “hoc”. As in, holy Batman, this flower could be your ticket to extremely good times! I must concur. Since painting “Hollyhock Rock” and hanging the new painting in my dining room prior to finding it a new home, it is a total mood lifter! It DOES make me feel happy and motivated. And abundant!
Death/rebirth is also part of the hollyhock symbolism package. So come hither through the heather, ignore inclement weather, and plant hollyhocks as if you life depends on it, because it very well may. Plus, all parts of the hollyhock are edible: flowers, roots, and leaves. Not sure about the seeds, do your own research there. But no dying of starvation with this plant around! You could actually get through hard times with this flower. Or at least make your salads more beautiful.
Medicinal Uses
This medicinal part of hollyhock, fertility flower, I am plagiarizing from the Internet: Through the centuries, Hollyhocks have been used in traditional herbal medicine for various medicinal purposes. (Hollyhocks with a capital H, you notice! Didn’t I tell you it’s special? ) This plant is useful in the treatment of constipation, dysmenorrhea (just say it, menstrual cramps), hemorrhage and chest complaints. It can improve blood circulation, promote urination and help relieve a dry cough. It can also be used externally as a poultice for chapped skin.
So we have fertility, abundance, happiness, ambition, death/rebirth, food, medicine. Not bad for a flower.
Hollyhock, the Outhouse Flower
There’s a final claim to fame for the holy hollyhock. This tidbit is from Facebook, so is quite possibly pure propaganda planted by an Hungarian oligarch bent on returning women to the Victorian era. The gist being that back in the fair day, hollyhocks were often planted around the outhouse because they made a good privacy screen. And even fairer that day was, graciously, to the fairer sex, for the women of fair Victoria could never say, “I need to use the outhouse, ” instead they were able to gently ask, “Where might the hollyhocks grow?”
On that note, please forgive me while I mention gold-plated bidet toilets at Mar a Lago, Rolex watches. Luis Vitton handbags, Female NHL team, the Hollyhocks, wins championship, Hollyhocks on the Camino del Norte, Hollyhocks near Stonehenge, Castles of Germany, and much more! Thank you for joining my monthly newsletter and enjoy the painting below, Hollyhock Rock, 24 x 36 in, oil on canvas by Lauren Forcella .
