Artichoke flower

The first time I saw one of these was in the market place in Canet Plage near Perpignan. They sell them as cut flowers once they have finished cropping the fields. The woman I bought it from suggested that I spray it with hairspray to make the flower last longer and it worked long enough for me to draw it.

I just love the lilac blue colour and it attracts lots of insects like this hover fly.

One year I managed to grow some from seed and they flowered prolifically the next year. I tried eating them but found preparation an absolute pain for the small amount that you get, so nowadays I buy them in oil and just grow the plant for it's late summer/autumn flowers.