Eryngium amethystinum at Digging Dog Nursery |

Eryngium amethystinum
at Digging Dog

Sea Holly

Dynamic is a rare adjective to apply to a plant, but it’s the best we can think of to describe Eryngium. From its leathery lobed leaves to the spiny, decorative bracts that host the flower, the Sea Holly has a sense of movement that is up and out. Excellent in fresh or dried arrangements, the flowers are borne on tall, branching stems, and the terminal blooms hold their color while lateral flowers develop, until the entire stem is covered with mature blossoms.

Eryngiums love well drained soil in the open sun, and are an arresting addition to the mixed border, especially when planted amidst Rudbeckia, the Achilleas, and grasses.

Eryngium amethystinum

In this cold hardy species, the up-curving bracts are long spiny slivers of silver, and the thistlelike metallic blue blossoms surmount branching stems, tinted blue on their upper extremities. Deeply cut, gray-green leaves, marked with a smattering of silver speckles and white veining, make a low-lying rosette for the wondrous spectacle that resides above.

Blooms July–September.

Size: 2' high x 18" wide; hardy to zone 4.