Eryngium planum

Blue, spikey and architectural Eryngium planum knows how to stand out! Every garden needs something a little unusual to draw the eye, and this plant, aslo known as blue eryngo or sea holly is one of the best for introducing a structural element with a wow factor. From its deeply-divided spiney and blue-tinged leaves, to the metallic blue tones in its stems, flowers and bracts, everything about it is original. This robust sun-lover is also a big pollinator magnet, great for wildlife-friendly schemes. Not only is this an attractive perennial, but it’s really resilient and low maintenance too. Eryngium planum tolerates tough conditions, like dry, sun-soaked areas, drought, coastal gardens and poor, light soils. If you’re a busy person who doesn’t have a lot of time to spend working on the garden, choose plants like Eryngium planum which mainly look after themselves, then use your free time to just enjoy it!

Eryngium planum is the ideal choice for hot and dry situations or poor soils, and will of course grow very happily in the more favourable conditions of any sunny garden border. It can be grown in gritty or sandy soil, making it popular in gravel gardens, Mediterranean schemes, seaside gardens and in tricky spots such as the foot of a sunny wall, where other plants struggle because of the rain shadow effect. Eryngium planum is a great stylistic option for a prairie perennial planting scheme too, where its attractive structure creates beautiful contrasts with ornamental grasses and classic prairie plants such as echinacea and helenium. If you add a dash of yellow, perhaps with coreopsis or rudbeckia, you’ll create a gorgeous complimentary pairing with the Eryngium’s bright blue. And it even looks great in winter with lasting seedheads, which are excellent for indoor flower arrangements too.