Cropped, composited.

These are Hollyhocks in pink and rose colors which I transplanted from a canal bank back in the early spring when the first leaves appeared. I wasn't sure what color the blooms would be but now...it's obvious. Hollyhocks are related to the Rose of Sharon shrub and Hibiscus plants.

Wiki says - "Alcea rosea, the common hollyhock, is an ornamental dicot flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It was imported into Europe from southwestern China during, or possibly before, the 15th century. William Turner, a herbalist of the time, gave it the name "holyoke" from which the English name derives."

The wild parent plants along the canal bank have already stopped blooming and gone to seed due to the bank being drier than my front garden. Mine have just started slowing down and I'm collecting seed pods to sow them around the yard perimeters. The main stalks grew to just under 6 feet tall and gave us an amazing flower show for months. I collected some seed pods from the deep maroon flowered plants along the canal and hope they will germinate next spring.