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Garden Photo of the Day

Garden Photo of the Day


Foliage like dinosaur feathers!

comments (3) August 6th, 2010 in blogs

mgervais Michelle Gervais, Associate Editor
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Photo: Michelle Gervais
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This variegated version of mountain thistle (Acanthus montanus 'Frieling's Sensation', Zones 7-11) was dicovered by Ohio nursery Glasshouse Works in the early 1980s, and it's just as attention-grabbing today as it surely was then. It's spiny leaves are mottled and splashed with white and steal the show in any container planting, as well as in the ground. It's a one-man show in this planter at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Brooklyn, New York. Mountain thistles are native to western Africa and prefer full sun or partial shade and fertile, moist, well-drained soil.

Welcome to the Fine Gardening GARDEN PHOTO OF THE DAY blog! Every weekday we post a new photo of a great garden, a spectacular plant, a stunning plant combination, or any number of other subjects. Think of it as your morning jolt of green.

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Comments (3)

rees55 writes: Love it! Anyone have any practical experience with this in landscape applications? Posted: 9:10 am on August 18th
show_me_girl writes: Awesome plant. I have never seen it before. I live in zone 6, can I grow it as a houseplant? Thanks for sharing. Posted: 9:33 am on August 16th
LaFlor writes: Does this thistle also have lots & lots of seed that blow all over the place and become a nuisance? It's beautiful. Where can one buy this plant? Posted: 4:47 pm on August 6th
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