Scotch Thistle and its Flower Essence

Many years ago I saw a photo of a Scottish garden that had these striking and statuesque gray plants at the back of the Flower beds. I got a bee in my bonnet about figuring out what this plant was.

(And speaking of bees, the hive discussed in the last blog got moved seamlessly. The bees are now ground level, and Jim has his ladder back).

In any case, a bee in my bonnet is a mild way of describing my reaction. I WAS GOING TO SEARCH THE PLANET FOR THIS FLOWER, so I too could grow these gorgeous giant plants.

First of all they were spiky, and I am ALWAYS on the lookout for spiky plants. Spiky plant armor usually indicates a high vibration Flower protecting itself from predators. Spiky plants like this form the foundation of our Golden Armor combination Flower Essence mix, our remedy for energetic protection, so when I saw this mystery plant I was determined to grow it here and add it to our Golden Armor mix.

There is a surprising amount of digging through old books in my work. Searching through musty ancient tomes, I discovered that this plant was Scotch Thistle, bane of Scottish farmers.

Having identified my new plant BFF, I needed seeds. This proved a challenge because most farming resources were all about removing this “scourge” from pastures. Any mention of Scotch Thistle came with extreme warnings. Eventually I found the seeds and threw caution to the wind. After all, Teasel is considered a similar garden menace, and I love Teasel. Yes, I have to weed it our with some vigor, but every year there are Teasels that I have let flourish AND I LOVE THEM ( and add their Flower Essence to Golden Armor).

Scotch Thistle also proved a magnificent friend in the garden and in Golden Armor. It does however have a mind of its own and moves around the garden, springing up where it wants to grow and disregarding any sense of appropriate placement. As in, it prefers to grow right in the front of a bed, making all the plants behind it difficult to see or weed around. Believe me, its spikes are the real deal!

Here a group clamor in front of the Henri Martin and Charles de Mills Roses
Not sure the Ispahan Rose wanted to be quite this cheek by jowl with these two Scotch Thistle.

Scotch Thistle is a biennial, so it takes two years to bloom then dies (something the Ispahan Rose will be glad about). The first year I usually don’t notice or pay attention to where the Scotch Thistle has snuck itself into the Flower beds. During the second season when it rises up seven or eight feet in the air, it’s hard to miss (though a bit hard to find on our website as its listed on the 27th page on the Additional Flower Essence list and can be ordered here ).

This year most of the Scotch Thistle in the garden is in its second year. It hasn’t yet bloomed, but it certainly has already made a statement in the garden. Frankly, it is everywhere. When planting the bulk of the Red Shiso, there was a wedge of Scotch Thistle in the garden space we were planting in. It told us in no uncertain terms to leave it alone and let it do its thing. We were happy to let it be, as we were certain it would protect all the little Red Shiso seedlings at its feet.

Recently the owner of a marvelous online knitting shop called The Woolly Thistle came for a visit. Corinne was born and raised in Scotland but now lives in our village. Jim taught her two children, so he got to know Corinne at parent teacher conferences. In addition, in the early days of the Woolly Thistle, before Corinne moved the business into larger quarters, her staff packed orders at her home, and her wool was mailed from the Meriden Post Office where we mail our Flower Essences.

Green Hope Farm staff Goddesses frequently ran into Woolly Thistlers at day’s end when we were all dropping off packages. Staffers liked this chance to chat, even though our postmaster didn’t like the logjam created by our simultaneous arrivals.

During covid, I was particularly grateful for Corinne as she shared her ideas for managing a mail order business with a skeleton staff. She helped us laugh instead of cry.

Corinne grew up near Glasgow, has spent time on the Shetland Island of Fair Isle and has a mother living in Nairn (the town next to Findhorn, one of the gardens that inspired Green Hope Farm). She has a wonderful youtube shopcast which I watch while knitting, so I feel I know Corinne well. During our recent garden ramble, it felt like visiting with an old friend. We had many common threads to discuss, not the least of it was her fantastic woolly wool imported from Europe. It has travelled through my knitting fingers to become numerous gorgeous sweaters!

These three sweaters are knit from Corinne’s Vanilla Fluff pattern (available as a kit) using her Rauma yarn from Norway. The staff would tell you I am almost always wearing one of these warm, light as a feather creations.

However the thing that was funniest about our meander through the gardens was that every time we paused, we were not alone. There was always a SCOTCH THISTLE right next to us, partaking in the conversation and keeping our attention riveted on all things SCOTTISH and all things WOOLLY THISTLE. In retrospect, I felt the Scotch Thistles had planted themselves exactly where they were this season for a visit with Corinne.

Native daughter to native plant, they got each other in a way I can only aspire to.