I was first introduced to Echinops by a friend. It was growing in her San Francisco garden and it was striking. A globe of pale blue flowers popping brightly out of the coastal fog. Captivating attention where it otherwise might be lost under bright sun. It was even better to find it growing here — in bloom at the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens. I love this plant.

Grow Echinops:

• Wildlife favorite. Bees and butterflies love the flower and birds love the seeds.
• Provides eye-catching summer interest and depth to any border or bed.
• Can be grown in a wide range of garden sites and styles, from cottage to wild.
• Great cut flower.
• Hardy perennial thriving in USDA zones 3 to 9.
• Self-sows.
• Best grown in poor, well drained soil and full sun but will tolerate a range of soils and part shade.
• Attractive to aphids.
• Grow from seed in mid-spring or propagate from divisions in fall or spring.
• Low maintenance with adaptable water requirements.