Zone: 3 to 8

Soil: sand to clay

Light: Full sun to part sun

Bloom colour: Blue

Bloom period: August

Height: 3 to 4 feet

Moisture: Dry to medium

Attracts: A variety of bees and butterflies.

Notes: These plants are widely available in nurseries and deserve to be planted more often. They originate from Europe where they grow in scrub and rocky areas. They are therefore quite undemanding and easy to grow. The leaves are spiny (and hence its name) and are topped by spherical flower heads that are quite unusual. These plants are very popular with bees. While full sun is the preference, you can get away with part-sun. Since they are not native and probably capable of escaping into the wild, they should only be planted in managed gardens. The most common specimens on sale in North America are cultivars of Echinops ritro.