Very popular in France, where it is commonly eaten as an hors d’oeuvre, this plant is grown for its large, edible, globular flower buds. These are soaked in salt water for a couple of hours, rinsed, boiled until tender, and then served with butter. Then, throwing away any pretence of good manners, the fleshy scales are removed one-by-one using your fingers, clamped between the teeth and the flesh stripped off. Delicious! However, don’t worry if you don’t like it – the Globe Artichoke is a noble plant, both for foliage and flowers, and worthy of a place in any border. Grow like any other hardy perennial and, in their final positions, plant out 3 ft. apart.
Classification:
Hardy, Perennial
Price:
£2.17 per packet
Guide prices for information only: Euros: € 2.42 US Dollars: $ 3.32