Ornamental thistle

Although it's related to the garden thistles that gardeners strive so hard to get rid of, 'Atropurpureum' is a tall statuesque plant that is perfect for the herbaceous border. It produces elegant, long, leafless stems, each topped with a huge magenta-pink thistle head. It's a useful plant for the back of the border but can also be planted at the front as an accent plant, because other plants can be viewed through its stems. Plant in any fertile, well-drained, slightly acidic soil in full sun.