sea holly

Blue is a very prominent color on earth, but when it comes to nature, blue is very rare. Even the few animals and plants that appear blue don’t actually contain the color. These vibrant blue organisms have developed some unique features that use the physics of light - the wavelength and structure of the organism. And for right now this is as far as the scientific explanation of why plants and animals look blue will go. 

A while ago I read about blue sea holly, how it's a prolific grower and a pollinator attractor. I'm all about helping out the pollinators. None of the garden centers around here carry sea holly so I ordered a couple plants from an online nursery. The instructions said to plant them in sandy soil. Then it hit me. SEA holly. It grows by the ocean and isn't typical to the midwestern farming state of Ohio. This called for a trip to the garden center to get a bag of sand to mix in with the midwestern dirt to hopefully make this a friendly environment for this alien plant to grow. Here it is, year two, and the sea holly is growing beautifully and attracting bees. 

Many flowers have symbolism and sea holly represents strength, independence, and admiration. Its spiky, thistle-like appearance conveys resilience and the ability to thrive in challenging conditions, much like its natural habitat along coastlines and rocky areas. Here, the closest body of water is the Great Miami River that cuts through farmland.

In the language of flowers, Sea Holly is often given to someone who is admired for their strength and determination.

It's also a member of the carrot family and its roots are edible.

Look at those purple stems! They are so pretty accented with the green leaves.