Echium wildpretii; my favorite plant in the garden, this week…

This one was a no-brainer, after all every day (above 25 degrees F) is a good day for the Echium wildpretii…

After all it can end up looking like this…

…very quickly if overnight temperatures are cold enough (photo from my garden in November 2010 after temperatures below 20F at night and at least 24 hrs of highs not above freezing).

I started winter 2011/12 with two plants, both lived and one of them bloomed in May 2012 (and died a couple of months later, that’s just the way it is with a biennial)…

This is the plant that didn't bloom, if it makes it through this winter will be going on its third year, certain to bloom during the spring/summer of 2013.

Even though Echium wildpretti is a Zone 9 plant and I garden in Zone 8 I don’t think I’ll ever face a summer without one. It grows so fast and has such a strong presence in the garden, I will definitely buy a couple every year. Ideally they’ll live to bloom but if not I’ll enjoy them while they last, plus it's fun to spend a little time now and then on the Annie's Annuals website thinking about what else I might order...

The stats...
Zones: 9 – 11
Height: 4ft – 8ft (including the bloom)
Width: 2ft – 3ft
Full Sun
Flowers: pink
Foliage: silver, gray / blue