In September I posted H Is for Hollyhock to celebrate the first hollyhock to bloom in the garden. It was a new plant for me, though I’d seen pictures of them and the name was familiar. But it was entirely my neighbor’s idea. In the month since that time we’ve had numerous hollyhocks sprout, climb to unreasonable heights and then die back. They seem very temporary. Beautiful, but somehow fragile. This is the first of the second wave. We have them in three different colors, each more beautiful than the next. But we are forced to enjoy them quickly, if that’s possible. In a month they’ll be gone. They will stun and then disappear. It goes against my nature to plant things so temporary. Of course, I didn’t plant them, so I don’t share the fault and can’t take the credit. I can only look at them as I pass by, gaze at them and hope they will be there tomorrow. They remind me that I myself am temporary.