When we think of thistles we tend to think about weeds, both in the shrub beds but also in the lawn, I think all of us at some point have sat upon a hidden thistle when we’re having a picnic, or consoled a child who’d handplanted a thistle whilst practicing cartwheels down the park… but did you know there are desirable thistles for the garden?
Recently I visited a fantastic garden outside of Edinburgh called Malleny Garden, and I was struck by the sheer number of bees enjoying a visit to an Ornamental thistle – Cirsium rivulare ‘Atropurpureum’. There must have been four bees to each flower… it was a wonderful sight, and of course the bees were so content they had little interest in me standing filming them.
These ornamental thistles suit a ‘naturalistic’ style of planting, combined in a perennial border they look great, but on their own they look a bit leggy – due to the flowers which stand up straight and tall above their foliage.
The deep colour of the flowers are very luxurious and the plant will grow trouble free here in Donegal, but due to its tall flowers will need some support of grown in a garden free from strong winds, and the plant adores damp and fertile soil, so in winter months mulch with some garden compost or rotted manure to keep the fertility in the soil high, this will also help with moisture retention during dry periods in the summer.
Once established you can divide the plant every 5 years, creating multiple plants to add to other parts of the garden – best done in the Autumn, or you can gather seeds in the summer for sowing the following Spring.
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