Most of the time I strive for a garden where mounds of perennials and annual flowers meld together in a colorful tapestry. Plants are staggered by height in an artistic manner and tranquility reigns. The image, at least in my mind, is idyllic.
Right now though, I am looking for a little more excitement.
I am sure that need arises from the fact that for the past year, the most exciting place I have gone each week is the supermarket. There is only so much titillation you can get from frozen vegetables.
In my quest for more excitement, my thoughts turn to Echinops, commonly known as globe thistle. It is not soft and flowing; it is as spiky as the hedgehog—“echinos” in classical Greek—from which its botanical name is derived. If you can imagine a mash-up of a dandelion and a common thistle with globular flowers in a lovely shade of blue, you will have an idea about the appearance and characteristics of globe thistle.
Globe thistle is a perennial that grows between two and four feet tall, depending on the species and variety. Its sturdy stalks have a branching habit and support the flowers that sprout on the top of each branch. Some people call the leaves “handsome”, but I think they look too much like dandelion leaves to merit that description. The best that I can say is that they are striking, mostly because of their distinctive gray-green color.
Fortunately, the flowers more than make up for that. Perfectly round, they range from grayish-blue to darker true blue shades that have a real impact in the landscape. White varieties are a little less popular than the blue ones, but are also available in commerce.
Globe thistles, like their common thistle relatives, are summer plants, shining from July through September. The flowerheads dry intact on the stalks and make excellent everlasting specimens for indoor arrangements. If you want to speed the drying process and preserve color, pick the stems while the flowers are blooming and hang them upside down in a cool, airy place until they are thoroughly dried.
Several echinops species dominate the retail market, including Echinops ritro, the small globe thistle; Echinops bannaticus, the blue globe thistle; and the tongue-twisting Echinops sphaerocephalus, the great globe thistle. One of the best is Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’, one of the darker varieties, that has blue-purple flowers on plants that grow up to four feet tall and two feet wide. ‘Blue Glow’ is similarly tall, dark and handsome. Pair either of them with the white-flowered ‘Arctic Glow’, which is a little shorter, but provides great color contrast. Shorter still is the equally white-flowered ‘Star Frost’. ‘Taplow Blue’, a variety of Echinops bannaticus, features steel blue globes on four to five foot stems. Like most of the other echinops, it is a worthy specimen for the middle to back of a perennial or mixed border.
For gardeners like me who amend the soil in a somewhat haphazard fashion, globe thistles are perfect. Rich soil is much less to their liking than poorer soil. This means that when I think of it, I can save the nutritious soil amendments for the roses. Globe thistles also prefer sunlight, but will perform in light shade. While they don’t like desert conditions, they do not need the constant moisture that you must lavish on your tomatoes and petunias.
When you think of your summer water bills, you will understand why plants like globe thistle make sense.
While you are thinking about your COVID vaccinations and daring to dream of travel plans, consider the excitement you can get in the shorter term by ordering some globe thistle for your garden. Waiting for normalcy is hard; waiting for an April shipment of globe thistle is much easier. Order yours from Digging Dog Nursery, 31101 Middle Ridge Road, Albion, CA 95410; (707) 937-1235; www.diggingdog.com. Print catalog available.