This ornamental thistle adds bold vertical interest and rich colour to summer borders. It produces deep purple, pincushion-like flowerheads held on strong, red-tinged stems, rising above a base of divided, prickly-edged foliage. The blooms appear over a long period, especially with regular deadheading, and are highly attractive to bees and butterflies.

Cirsium rivulare ‘Trevor’s Felley Find’ is a sun-loving, clump-forming perennial whose silvery green foliage forms a neat mound, while the tall flowering stems provide contrast in naturalistic and wildlife-friendly planting schemes. Leave late-season flowers to fade for decorative seedheads that may attract finches.