I love the colour on this ornamental thistle.

We have these - grow fast and look great

Hope it keeps going, got two in the front garden so am hoping they do not disappear on me. They are such a lovely plant. :O)

yes, I have these too and you're right...bees love it. Cirsium rivulare Atropurpureum. Great plant, and if you cut it down it usually comes back and flowers again.

yes thats the one Karen this has actually still got its label I was too lazy to go and look for it. lol :O) but it is a beauty and I hope it survives and spreads like crazy. I lost one to the bad winter in 2010 and only replaced it late on last season so this is the first flower on this for me. I love the colour too, the bees just go crazy for it which is great in the garden, hope we get some sunshine again to fetch them out. Cloudy and dismal this morning, off out to meet up with Sarah and Kate and baby Aaron later on today. Sam not coming though she has hair and dentist most of day. lol. off to Epworth g.c. where they do home cooked food too. yay!!!!!!

Yum! My Cirsiums get bigger each year. I think you will need to split in spring if you want more, I've never seen a seedling.

I wonder if collect some seed off the flower and try planting it up if it would take. Normal thistles grow like crazy in the garden so it is probably worth a try. Paul and I were sat in the garden on Sunday you would not believe how many dandelion seed heads were flying over and down in the garden. All from the field down the lane, it is a mass, I shall have dandelions all around next year. ah well keep me busy digging them out I suppose. lol. they manage to survive whatever the weather throws at them don't they!

ps the old plum tree border is a mass of poppy seedlings which I sprinkled not last year but the year before, they have a habit of waiting a while and then making you sorry you did that, going to leave them and see what it looks like, hope they are the purple one. Will post pictures as and when they produce flowers. lol :O)

No sign of mine this year....I need to dig the border, as they will be stuck in the bark clippings!