Close up of Verbascum, Sixteen Candles

Stunning close up Lori..............
I have one very similar Blattaria I think its called? thought I'd lost it a couple of years ago but it popped up among some homemade compost I'd spread in the garden, better than it ever was when I grew it from seed at nearly 5ft tall this year, love it :-)

Going to make a point of taking seed this year, Simbad. That's encouraging because I read somewhere (senior moment, can't remember where) that they are not a long living perennial...3 to 5 yrs max. This is it's 4th year with the interruption of the move almost 2 yrs ago! So If I can divide it next spring (provided it makes it thro the winter) I'll have more plants with seedlings as insurance. Hopeful!

Aaaah now thats probably why I lost mine then if they're not long lived,think they had been in the garden around 3 years so I'll definitely be collecting seed from mine too its such a good doer flowered for months now so don't want to loose it :-)

the saquaro-like V.thapsis has finally reached it's peak. the leaves are all ratty and brown but the little birds are feasting on the seeds. The plants are such abundant seed producers that there's always plenty for everyone! Would like to remove them as they are a bit unsightly but decided to leave them be for now. Will collect their seed along with the SC.

Had to google that one Lori :-), looks very like our verbascum bombyciferum, I've grown a couple of lovely big ones the past few years and now they seed around and I just move them where I want them, my kind of plant :-),'Banana Custard', quite large yellow flowers, and 'Snow Maiden', cream flowers, both are 6-7ft tall and like yours starting to go over a bit now but I'm leaving them for the birds too :-) Snow Maiden is just outside the kitchen window and covered in blue tits, lovely to see,they're also quite near my roses so they sort out the greenfly on them too.

Here in NA...we have a different take on the "Snow Maiden covered in blue tits" reference...sorry to be crude but I started to chuckle and couldn't stop. the image I envisioned was not the one you intended. ahem...onward and upward...
It is great to hear a gardener speaking about the rich natural environment that happens in our gardens.(if we allow it to.) I will look up the varieties you've mentioned because I find these flowers irresistible. Have a pic I took of a young sparrow, one of many, which was hiding in the cedar tree after gorging on the Verbascum...The sparrows and the chickadees (similar to the blue tit?) are in competition for the bounty of seed.

Lol you've set me off now Lori :-), nearly choked on my cuppa.
I have a picture of Snow Maiden on page 5 of my pictures and a close view of Banana Custard on page 6 :-)
We have quite a few baby robins at the moment they're so tame even at that age, think they're starting to get a bit terretorial now though, I was weeding yesterday and kept throwing worms to one that was following me round then another came from nowhere and pinned him to ground pecking him, I had to clap my hands to split them up.
I'll have a look for your picture :-)