Cardoon with Bee

Cardoon with Bee
Originally uploaded by williamsnursery

Wow, OK so I did neglect the blog last week. I was suffering from a bit of sensory overload. After snapping over 1200 pictures, I'm finally getting things back in line.

I took this picture at Plant Delights. The Cardoon, Cynara cardunculus) is a tall growing thistle like plant. It stood over four foot tall. We've always had them in small one gallon pots in the Spring, and I never got to see one actually in bloom. The flower is very spectacular. its about the size of a large fist.

It seemed that the bees absolutely loved the plant. They would roll around the pollen in the top of the flower. It kind of reminded me how cats behave after they've gotten some catnip.