Craspedia globosa

Craspedia globosa bears a sculptural flower, popular with florists who use its floral stems to bring light and structure to country-style bouquets. In the garden, it charms with its silver-green foliage and its endless summer flowering. It pairs perfectly with chamomile flowers, white asters, blue thistles, and agapanthus. It is perennial, but is not very hardy. It is grown as an annual outside of mild regions. Sow the seeds in spring in containers, rockeries, and flower beds, in moderately dry soil. It is not uncommon for it to self-sow in the garden.

Craspedia globosa belongs to the Asteraceae family and is a relative of daisies, dandelions, and asters. Its flowers are organised in globular heads. It is a rhizomatous perennial plant native to Australia and New Zealand, adapted to mild winters, with hardiness not exceeding -7°C (19.4°F) for a well-established specimen planted in well-drained soil. The foliage is evergreen in mild climates. It forms a dense rosette composed of elongated oval and spatulate leaves covered in hairs that give them a beautiful silver-green appearance. Flowering begins in June-July, depending on the sowing date, and continues until September. Thin, upright floral stems emerge from the foliage, rising 50 to 60cm (20 to 24in) from the ground. At the end of each stem, a head in the shape of a 2 to 3cm (1in) diameter ball appears, with 8 to 10 nectar-rich florets. They are extremely popular with butterflies and bees. The tubular florets are surrounded by decorative golden yellow bracts, which dry while retaining their beautiful colour. After pollination, feathery fruits called achenes form and are dispersed by the wind.