102 MY GARDEN 



let Lychnis, Madonna and Herring Lilies are still in 

 good order, and there is often a host of self-sown or early 

 sown annuals creating bright patches of colour about the 

 borders, but in our garden the most prominent features 

 of early July are Hollyhocks and the great sunshiny 

 Mulleins. 



For many years a hideous disfiguring disease rendered 

 Hollyhocks almost useless for garden purposes and it 

 was only in out-of-the-way corners in humble gardens 

 that this poor plant, once so lauded and admired, raised 

 its stricken head. The disease first shows itself in ugly 

 brown pimples on the under side of their foliage and it 

 works so quickly that soon the whole flower stalk stands 

 bravely flying its colours still, but denuded of its green- 

 ery or with a few tattered leaves hanging forlornly 

 about it. Much has been done of late years, however, 

 by lovers of the Hollyhock to alleviate its sufferings, and 

 it is now quite possible with a few precautions or reme- 

 dies to have this splendid flower in its integrity. We 

 seldom have a diseased plant in our garden, and our 

 secret is simply to give them plenty of sun and air, a rich 

 soil, and to treat them as biennials. Old plants are 

 much more apt to have the disease, and Hollyhocks are 

 so easily raised from seed that to keep up a stock of 

 young ones in the nursery is a very simple matter. We 

 dig up the old plants and throw them away. Plants out 

 in the open (not against walls or fences) where the air 

 may circulate freely about them are much more likely 



