Hollyhocks and malvas
This elegant family of flowering spires has a blowsy, cottage-garden appeal that lasts all summer, says Val Bourne
Mallows are looking their best right now. With their saucer-shaped flowers and cottage-garden good looks, the malvaceae family includes not just hollyhocks but also malva, lavatera and even hibiscus species – their open flowers accessible to bees of every kind. In fact a study by Cambridge University Botanic Garden identified perennial Malva moschata (musk mallow) as the plant bees visited the most. Malva moschata alba is a pristine pure white, although seedlings are often tinted pale-pink. The satin sheen on the petals means the flowers never look too glacial and the pink veining complements rock roses, dianthus and silver plants in drier parts of the garden. It also happily colonises grass, so you can add it to a mini meadow. Reddish-mauve mallows sprawling over the edges of sunny roads are likely to be Malva sylvestris or common mallow. Dark veins on the five-petalled flowers guide bees inwards. More upright, woody forms, often with mauritiana in their name, hail from that part of north-west Africa. These provide excellent verticals in borders, without taking up much ground room. Chiltern Seeds sells a refined, pale-pink form with purple veining called ‘Zebrinus’ to H1m (3ft 3in). Sarah Raven offers richpurple Malva sylvestris mauritanicus ‘Windsor
Castle’ and highly desirable ‘Primley Blue’, which all return each year. Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) are also perennial – a popular cottage garden choice available as singles and doubles. Sultry ‘Nigra’ needs a pale partner to stand out well. Other good singles include ‘Halo Candy’, a mid-pink with a raspberry centre, said to be resistant to rust. ‘Crème de Cassis’ has blackcurrant and pink single and semi-double flowers. Frilly doubles (such as Chater’s strain from Thompson & Morgan) come in mixtures and separate colours, but won’t attract bees and are often shorter. There’s also a mallow called Althaea, which means ‘to heal’. This grows in moist, sandy soil near rivers; native A. officinalis thrives close to Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens in Dorset. In times past its roots were used to make marshmallows. Closely related Althaea cannabina is a better garden choice, but needs space. It sends slender wands of flowers from a light, airy plant high into the air July-Sept. Alcalthaea suffrutescens, a vigorous hybrid between hollyhock and Althaea officinalis, has some resistance to rust. Shrubby lavateras or tree mallows have hibiscus-like flowers and do well in dry soil and sun, but turn brittle as they age. Try Lavatera clementii ‘Barnsley’, a red-eyed pale-pink, mid-pink ‘Bredon Springs’ and darker ‘Burgundy Wine’. There are also annual lavateras, such as ‘Silver Cup’, but their large flowers can be hard to place. Malope trifida ‘Vulcan’ has magenta and lime-green flowers with gaps in the petals showing the underlying sepals. Whichever mallow you choose to plant, rest assured the bees will be grateful!
In times past, Althaea roots were used to make marshmallows