PERENNIAL. Ht 1.7m.
Globe artichokes are delicious, easy to grow and very good for you. Perhaps the best-known artichoke variety, they produce large edible flower buds from June to September, which should be cut regularly before opening to promote new growth. Usually the flower heads boiled or steamed whole before being eaten. Only the base of each leaf is eaten, plus the 'artichoke heart'. If left to open, they produce large thistle-like flowers of purple/blue, that are very attractive to bees and butterflies. Plant in rich, fertile soil in full sun.