Robust, Echinops bannaticus 'Taplow Blue' is a unique and appealing Globe Thistle with deeply cut foliage of prickly dark green leaves, downy and white underneath. From mid-summer to early fall, it produces abundant, perfectly round, powdery steel-blue flower heads, 2-3 in. (5-7 cm), at the end of gracefully curving, branched, leafy stems.