I’ll let the photos do the talking
I’ve been waiting to share these with you for some time now. But I’ve had to wait for the final Ta Dah! moment before I could fully share them.
and then it starts all over again
All the photos have been taken on my allotment and are shown in date order. I hope, like me, you think its been worth the wait !
Gorgeous!!
Thanks Melissa !
You’re Welcome!
Take a bow – they’re gorgeous! I haven’t got room for these globe artichokes but they’re on my wish list!
I don’t think I can take a bow, I did nothing !! I love having them around, ye sthey are edible but mostly I lik elooking at the leaves
magnificent, and worth the wait … i am sure they are delicious!
HI Chrsitine, thank you. I deliberately left a few on the plant to go to flower as the bees and I love them
OMGoodness!! They are Glorious!!!
I love the word glorious
thank you !
Really fantastic photographs here, I love macro photography but sometimes it gets lost in a sea of messy and uncomposed formal elements, however this does not apply to your work as you have done a fantastic job at capturing such detail and alluring colours and shapes. Well done!
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Thank you fo ryour kind compliments. Sometimes I think I get to focused (sorry for the pun! ) on macro shots and should really try others, but then I get tempted back into macro and away I go again !
I started a Violet de Provence last year by seed. Not much happened the first season, but this year IT EXPLODED. A thing of beauty! I’m sure my pruning was all wrong and I let it grow wild, but I harvested almost 50 artichokes from a single plant.
I have a Violet one to grow for next year, looking forward to seeing how different they are, and your’s sounds a treat and a real bumper crop ! Nice one
I’ll say it’s worth the wait!! Wow, these really are incredible, they’ve grown to such a perfect shape and size. I love how you’ve photographed them from different zoom and angles. These are frame-worthy photos I think! Have you eaten on yet? They must be out of this world fresh!!
Thanks Smidge ! But me being me I look at the photos and think could do better…. I’d love to be able to shoot from exactly the same angle each time but nature has a way of not cooperating properly and moves and grows
We’ve eaten all the artichokes a while ago, this batch I deliberately left on the plant for me and the bees to enjoy
Beautiful.
I think they are, the purple is almost unworldly, the sort of colour that you don’t expect to see in nature.
TA DAAAA! Worth the wait! Mine did not bloom this year, i think i go the wrong kind.. poo.. c
POO !. They take a little while to settle in, maybe a couple of years befor ethey really start to produce. Perhaps next year they will treat you !
S T U N N I N G !
Mandy xo
beautiful and delicsh
They were good while they lasted, the show is for the bees really, they adore them !
No blooms from mine–I did only have ONE artichoke. Ate it.
Sounds the most sensible thing to do Alice !!
Beautiful…we can look at artichoke blossoms all day…ours are fried now, but it is nice to see yours coming in…a lovely reminder. The color is one of our faves…
I always think the colour looks a bit crazy, almost like it couldn’t have been made my nature alone, it’s just so outrageously vivid !
It does seem like you almost “plug it in” to get that color…
Magnficent! Do you start the artichokes from seed? Do they grow like that on one season? Now that I’ve seen your photos .. I would like to try growing them!!! Any tips, Claire???
I was given two plants, but I starte dsome from seed this year so I’ll get round to planting them out, but I think I should wait now until early Spring for that, actually I should go and check up in one of my books !!
So basically I got some seeds, plonked them in a flower pot with some standard compost, all outdoors, and then let them grow on. You do need to remember to water them while they are still in their pots as they can dry out quickly. Writing this makes me realise I should have plante dthem out this summer ! Then I let them settle in, leave them alone for a year, and then in the 2nd year you can start to pick them. They say to pick out the central stalk to encourage growth. Hope this helps
Well worth the wait, Claire. An artichoke in bloom is a wondrous thing. It’s a shame they taste so good or more of us would be familiar with its blooms. But they do taste that good and while I truly do appreciate the photos, all I could think of is how I would have prepared the artichoke for dinner.
I can see you have artichokes as food on your mind John !!
The purple colour is amazing. I can’t say that I’ve ever tried artichokes. The effort (endless peeling, lemon wash) always seemed to be too much for very little return vegetable wise.
I hear you, but for some th epleasure is in the slow process, the morsels of food you get, and as you get nearer to the heart, the sweeter they are. But glad you like dthe flowers
Growing up in California I just took artichokes for granted….common table fare. Your photo chronicle shows the artichoke in a new light….the structural symmetry is amazing. Thanks for sharing.
They really are things of beauty to me, I wish we had a bigger garden as I’d definitely grow them there as well as the allotment. I guess I can’t have my proverbial cake and eat it in this instance !
Wow! Just beautiful! How delightful to see them in sequence! Makes me want to plant artichokes, even in my small space!
Debra
Thank you Debra, they do take up a bit of room, but I do appreciate the silver-grey leaves so much. Hope you have a super weekend !
Lovely photos! I too, grow artichokes and we enjoyed several about a week ago. Went on vacation and came home to another batch ready to be harvested! This is the best year I’ve had for growing artichokes!
Hi there and thank you – loving the name of your blog ! I don’t think I could ever get bored of artichokes, it sounds like you had a bumper crop !
Beautiful! I wish I could grow artichokes here, but I think our winters are far too cold.
Hi kate, have you tried mulching them over winter with straw and anything else you can get your hands on? Or is it still too cold !
Definitely worth the wait! They are beautiful! Your photos really show how the “vegetable” is transformed into a lovely flower. Stunning!
Thank you Cathy, it is a transformation isn’t it. In some ways I’d like to pick them, but the bees wouldn’t be too impressed if I did !
I do love artichokes. So disappointing they cannot be grown here. The ones that arrive in the store are often sad specimens. I dream of the baby artichokes sauteed whole that I had in California. And I can see they would definitely be a plus ornamentally, especially with the purple thistle-like flower.
It seems there are a few of you where it’s simply too cold for them to grow, what a shame. And your mentioning baby artichokes sauted remindes me of John (from the Bartolini Kitchen) and his love of them !! you’re in good company !
Love the photos!!!!
Thanks
That was one solid performance by your gorgeous plants
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Wow, Claire, you’ve outdone yourself. Artichokes do make wonderful subject.
Thank you! I wish I had a bit more room on the allotment so I could really stand back to photograph them, as it is they have a cucmbe rframe running up against them! Oh well I guess I should focus on the positives !!
Love the lavender color!
Thanks Yummy, it’s almost flourescent in colour it’s so vivid !
Aren’t these exquisite veggies? I love steaming them and eating them leaf by leaf after being dipped in a favourite sauce. Yes, I think I will buy myself one…this is making me drool!
So beautiful!
totally worth it!
Thanks for sharing and waiting for the Ta dah moment
Thank you Giovanna, you know I feel a bit childlike with the Ta dah, like, doing show and tell, but totally fun !!
These are so beautiful and I don’t think I’ve ever seen the full cycle of an artichoke…how interesting! You showed amazing restraint leaving some to flower…not sure I could have kept from eating them all.
Hi Betsy and thank you. I had a good reason to hold back – wanted to share the photos on here and for the bees to enjoy
Lurking on my computer is one of your photos! I just love the artichokes when they are flowering
Fantastic Tandy !! That’s a great compliment and has put a real big smile of my face !
Wonderful shots, Claire! Artichokes always remind me of pinecones, with all of those intersecting segments. And lucky you to have a bumper crop – happy eating!
I like the comparison with pinecones thanks for the connection ! And they are just as photogenic
Yay! Gorgeous artichokes
Thanks !!
Wow! What knockout photos. I loved going through the whole progression. I am starting some purple artichokes from seed and am looking forward to seeing how those turn out. I think that architectural really is the best word to describe the stately appeal of an artichoke plant…
Fab, it seems there are a few of us who have starte dsome purple artichokes from seed, we’ll be able to swap notes and photos next year !!
I’m loving the word “stately”
Now that is exciting news — I can’t wait to see how they all go!
These are wonderful photos, Claire. I love the purple, too!
Thank you Cindy, it’s a real burst of colour!
I’m so glad you waited to show them like that! Now I want them on my plate though…hmm…
Often use artichoke/spinach dip as alternative to tomato sauce for macaroni of all types. Spurt of lime too.
That sounds like a great combination Carl, nice and tasty !
Ohhhh, your artichokes are all grown up and beautiful!
Yup my children are all grown up and beautiful Inger
Thank you !
Wow, wow and super wow! You should enter these photos into some type of competition or something. Glad you captured the moment before start to cook them.
Oh WOW thank you for your encouraging comments! I was thinking about getting a couple printed up onto canvas as I think the textures would work. I need to go and get a price !
I love artichokes… both to eat and to look at… These are beautiful!
Thank you Shimon, they are a visual treat!
The purple color of the artichoke flowers is just stunning!
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I’m hoping I can manage to get some artichokes to grow here one of these days. I’ve grown cardoon (in Washington) and loved it for its similar beauties, and would be delighted if either (or both) will share my Texas plot eventually.
How fanatsic that you grew Cardoons!
This is beautiful. I had never seen an artichoke in bloom. They are absolutely beautiful. Are they from the thistle family, I wonder? Three of those beautiful flowers paired with dry birch twigs would be so lovely to decorate with. Thank you for sharing!