“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8
Step out into a garden and see that the LORD is good!
His goodness is displayed in an array of color and orderly arrangements of leaves, flowers, fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, herbs and abundance of living things.
Many flowers are edible and used to beautify meals.
Hollyhock flowers are a beautify sight and a support many forms of life.
Hollyhock and Calendula petals added color to my breakfast salad.
Hollyhock flowers are nostalgic for many as they remember making Hollyhock dolls and seeing the tall flowers in cottage gardens of their grandparents.
The plants provide a place to rest for birds and butterflies like these Gold Finches and a Two-Tailed Tiger Swallowtail.
They are a nectar source for hummingbirds
They are a host plant for caterpillars of three butterflies:
Painted Lady,
Common Checkerspot,
and Gray Hairstreak (also notice the yellow ambush bug).
Hollyhocks are a food plant for grasshoppers which supply birds with food for their young.
Hollyhock flower flavonoids and mucilage polysaccharides have healthful properties. Water extracts are traditionally used to treat inflammation (e.g., sore throat), gastric ulcers and reduce risks of diabetes.
These are known ways that Hollyhocks show the goodness of the Creator-God. There are undoubtedly many beneficial aspects of Hollyhocks that are yet to be discovered. I am struck by how the things God made have so many functions and interrelationships that collectively proclaim that He made all things. Let us walk humbly with God, our refuge and strength.
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11
I am exited to share that The gift book “Gardens Pour Out Speech,” is available!