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Hinton Ampner Garden


Eryngium giganteum

Giant Sea Holly - ‘Miss Willmott’s Ghost’

Location

The Walled Garden

Description:

A self-seeding biennial, that doesn’t become a troublesome weed, with very large spiny flower heads, in an unusual silvery-grey shade, and a greenish cone in the centre, attractive to bees and other pollinating insects. Flowers are superb for cutting, fresh or dried. Garden mythology claims that English plants woman Ellen Willmott used to secretly scatter seeds of this plant while visiting other people’s gardens.

Site and Care:

Will grow in any type of soil in full sun and is drought tolerant once established. If it self-seeds in shade it will not develop the silver flowers. Propagation is by seed.