Max and His Hollyhocks

Max, on the right, usually spends his mornings sleeping in the sunshine with his buds.

But this time of year, Max is preoccupied with his garden.

Max raises 10 foot hollyhocks. This is his third year. The old hollyhock bed runs right alongside the fencing of the puppy yard. Every year it gets a little thinner as the hollyhocks migrate through the fence, into Max's dominion. Every year my hollyhocks get shorter and sparser, and Max's get taller, brighter, and thicker.

This year the hollyhocks are red with maroon details.

Plain and ruffled.

The behind-the-scenes look.

The blossoms still have pollen on them (this means next years hollyhocks will be even thicker).

He refuses to tell me how he lures them over to his side of the fence, or how he gets them to grow so tall.

He says it's a trade secret.

Whatever it is, he runs right out there first thing every morning to check on them.

Next year I may put him in charge of the rest of the garden too.