Mallows

Okra has to be one of the best "bang for your buck" veggies. It's easy to grow from seed. It survives in 100+ degree heat. It makes tons of fruit. And, my favorite feature of all, it creates these beautiful flowers.


Okra is a member of the mallow family along with turk's cap and hibiscus. We have turk's cap blooming in the shade in the front yard. I can see family resemblance, especially in the pistols in the middle of the flowers.


I wish you could keep cut mallow flowers, but even on the plant, the blooms only last one day.

While I was harvesting okra pods, I accidently cut too deeply and wacked off a few leaves. They were so beautiful, I put them in a vase half expecting them to shrivel up in few hours. It's been three days and they haven't shown any signs of wilting.