Handsome, Healing MALLOWS
MANY YEARS AGO,_we rented a hilltop farm in northern Vermont. The place had no electricity or running water, but we were young and had $300 in savings, a cow named Aster, and a spectacular view of the valley. We were so busy trying to adjust to “the simple life” — hardly simple, as we soon discovered — that we didn’t mind the inconveniences. While hoeing long rows of string beans and corn, I could draw comfort from a nearby stand of tall, old-fashioned hollyhocks growing by a weathered stone wall that showed them off: trumpets of the purest white, the deepest rose, and the prettiest pink.
I vowed to recreate the magic of this memorable planting when we owned our own place. When we finally settled on a backcountry farm in Nova Scotia, though, I found that my dream plants often failed to overwinter in the cold, heavy soil. I searched for tougher hollyhock-like alternatives, and discovered an appealing group of flowering herbs loosely known as “mallows.” Most mallows are less demanding in their growing requirements and offer prolific, beautiful blooms all summer long and well into fall.
Like hollyhocks, these plants belong to the Malvaceae family; its 116 genera comprise more than 1,500 species, including cotton, okra, and the fiber plant kenaf. Herbalists categorize mallows and the common name “mallow” both come from the Greek word , meaning “soft” or “soothing.” Several species have been used for millennia as food and in preparations to soothe aching limbs, headaches, coughs, and inflammations.
