Eryngium bourgatii Pico's Amethyst

The Eryngium 'Pico's Amethyst', sometimes called Mediterranean sea holly, brings a lot of originality to the garden with its blue flowers with metallic reflections and its particularly decorative foliage, marbled green and white. In dry gardens, gravel gardens, rockeries or sunny borders, this architectural perennial is particularly decorative during the summer.

The Eryngium 'Pico's Amethyst' belongs to the Apiaceae family, descending from the Mediterranean species Eryngium bourgatii, native to the Pyrenees and Spanish mountains. The cultivar 'Pico's Amethyst' was developed by the Genesis plant breeding group. Patented under the name 'Mackpam', it is characterized by its intense blue floral bracts and strong stems tinged with red and blue. It was also selected for its particularly attractive foliage. This herbaceous plant grows in a dense clump of about 50 cm in all directions. Its basal leaves are divided and spiny, of a fairly dark green veined with silvery white. Its stems are stiff, often tinged with red and blue. From July to August, they bear inflorescences surrounded by spiny bracts. The cone-organized flowers are small (1.5 to 2 cm), grouped in tight clusters that lend themselves well to fresh or dried floral arrangements. The flowers start out silver in colour, turn deep blue as they mature, and are intensely visited by bees. The foliage is deciduous, and the plant regrows in spring after a rest period in winter. Its growth rate is moderate, reaching its final size in 2 to 5 years.

The Eryngium bourgatii 'Pico's Amethyst' finds its place in dry gardens, rockeries, and sunny borders, where its very "prickly" charm stands out among plants with soft or light textures. Pair it with other plants for dry soil, such as Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue' (blue fescue) and Stachys byzantina (lamb's ears). The pink-flowered yarrows and tall Sedums such as 'Matrona', sturdy and floriferous, are excellent partners in borders or gravel beds. Naturally, pair it with Calamint, an aromatic perennial close to mints and oreganos that forms a mist of small white-pink to mauve-blue melliferous flowers between summer and autumn.

A biodiversity asset: this plant attracts various pollinators, making it a good choice for an ecological and natural garden.