If you are looking for a beautifully unique blue flower that adds some variety to your garden, look no further than the globe thistle. This unique plant has some strikingly beautiful blue flowers, and is fairly easy to care for depending on your hardiness zone.A perennial garden is incomplete without Blue Globe Thistle. This flowering plant is native to southern and eastern Europe and western Asia. As part of the sunflower family, this plant is sure to create a summer spectacle with a spectacular twist.
It is mainly sought after for its spherical, spikey flowers that come in beautiful hues of blue. Unfortunately, these pretty spines do sting when they come into contact with the skin.
On top of its summery looks, there are several benefits to growing this plant. It’s very fast-growing, adaptable, and easy to care for, thriving in almost any condition. They are also drought tolerant and deer resistant. Plus, they attract a myriad of beneficial insects. Butterflies in particular are fans of its spiky foliage, as it’s a delicious source of food for them.
This summer-blooming beauty continues to add textured interest in fall with its striking seed heads. Blue globe thistle looks most at home along beds and borders in cottage gardens and meadow-style landscapes. However, they can also add splashes of color in rock and gravel gardens. Throughout history, globe thistle was a popular plant – not typically for its looks, but for its medicinal properties. The roots were mainly used by herbal practitioners for their anti-inflammatory and lactation-promoting capabilities, predominantly used to treat mastitis and breast swelling.
Globe thistle was first named in the 1700s by renowned Swedish botanist Charles Linnaeus. He aptly named the genus Echinops, which is a Greek word that roughly translates to ‘hedgehog head’. Echinops is a large genus, consisting of over 120 different globe thistles. The most popular is Echinops ritro, which was one of the few that made their way into home gardens.
Echinops were eventually introduced to the United States in the 1800s, and since then has spread across North America. The blue globe thistle has won several prestigious gardening awards, including the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
Blue is not a common color in the flower world, so this plant, with its steely blue spikes, is a popular choice amongst gardeners. Propagation is done in one of three ways – seeds, roots, and division. No matter the method you choose, remember to wear thick gloves to protect your hands from the sharp spikes.