What's Not To Love?
If you ask most gardeners, they might be quick to tell you that the thistle plant has no reason to be near their favorite plants. However I always have loved seeing the transition that the plant makes from bud to bloom to soft fuzzy bits. Once I did a bit of online sleuthing, I discovered that many critters enjoy this plant as much as I do.
Thistledown is the pappus of a thistle consisting of silky featherlike hairs attached to the seed-like fruit of a thistle.
Thistle flowers are the favourite nectar sources of the pearl-bordered fritillary, small pearl-bordered fritillary, high brown fritillary, and dark green fritillary butterflies.[8] Thistles and thistle-seed feeders provide important sustenance for goldfinches and the flowers are strongly favoured by many butterflies besides fritillaries such as the monarch, skippers, and the various types of tiger swallowtail. Hummingbirds will feed on the flowers of the biennial species, which feature large flowers, as compared with the perennial creeping thistle.
What's Not To Love?
If you ask most gardeners, they might be quick to tell you that the thistle plant has no reason to be near their favorite plants. However I always have loved seeing the transition that the plant makes from bud to bloom to soft fuzzy bits. Once I did a bit of online sleuthing, I discovered that many critters enjoy this plant as much as I do.
Thistledown is the pappus of a thistle consisting of silky featherlike hairs attached to the seed-like fruit of a thistle.
Thistle flowers are the favourite nectar sources of the pearl-bordered fritillary, small pearl-bordered fritillary, high brown fritillary, and dark green fritillary butterflies.[8] Thistles and thistle-seed feeders provide important sustenance for goldfinches and the flowers are strongly favoured by many butterflies besides fritillaries such as the monarch, skippers, and the various types of tiger swallowtail. Hummingbirds will feed on the flowers of the biennial species, which feature large flowers, as compared with the perennial creeping thistle.