New life

This is the centre of one of about forty echiums currently growing in my garden. They have a two year life cycle. In the first year they grow to about 4ft and the following year they grow to about 12/13ft! They are covered in tiny white hairs on the stems and the leaves and they really hurt if you get them in your skin. They have tiny blue flowers from about May onwards and they seed everywhere! I have never planted a single one and yet I have thousands of seedlings!!!!