Thank you all for your lovely pictures and interest. @silversurfer my mystery plant was seen in several castle grounds i visited but sadly it is not one of your pictures although i did see the beautiful Eryngium. @pitterpatter. looking at the photos from s.surfer your pic seems to be Cynara, beautiful ! Hosta is probably right about it being an Echinops before it gets softer but I have yet to find a photo of one that looks like the one i saw however, it has been fun investigating. Thanks again
@Dovefromabove, thanks for lovely pic but this still looks different. The 'spikes' on the globe were sort of conical in shape and looked almost like waxed card (or so I remember) I am beginning to think I imagined it !!
@Dovefromabove, thanks for lovely pic but this still looks different. The 'spikes' on the globe were sort of conical in shape and looked almost like waxed card (or so I remember) I am beginning to think I imagined it !!
Lyn you pipped me to it. There was mention the colour purple in the original post. I would say Echinops are more of a blue/silvery colour. I was thinking...any chance the thistle could be an allium? Allium Sphaerocephalon.
@silversurfer sorry, it is not your offering, I think Dove's is probably the closest and thinking about it, it was more blue. Thankyou to everyone, this has been very interesting and I have loved learning more about thistles.
Posts
Echinops in 'bud'
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
An even more immature Echinops 'bud' in my garden this morning.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I believe your plant is Onopordum acanthium ....it is much loved in castle gardens.