Artichokes and cardoons are the new fashionable ornamental accents, showing up in the best gardens as "architectural" elements in the perennial border.
For good reason. Large and dramatic, artichoke and cardoon plants are stately, with great fronds of deeply serrated leaves, each three or more feet in length and with a frosted, silvery coloration that catches sunlight on its dew, making the plants shimmer and gleam in the slightest breeze.
Cardoon's thistle flower in bloom.
(Photodisc)
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Ubiquitous ornamental grasses, so heavily used in landscape gardening these days as to become something of a cliche, are granted a design reprieve when paired with the majestic artichoke or cardoon.
The two plants are virtually indistinguishable to the layman's eye. Members of the vast thistle family, cardoon and artichoke both produce an abundance of gray-green leaves, followed by flower stalks in the summer.
Artichoke plants, of course, produce the famous flower bud that is prized for its sweet, meaty center, or heart. But if you left the closed-leaf artichoke bud on the plant a few days, it would open into a full-blown thistle flower.
Cardoons have a similar growth habit; their flowers are smaller and are not harvested for food. The food of the cardoon comes from the stalk, which in late summer is blanched, the entire plant wrapped with newspaper or black plastic and bound with twine.
Approximately five weeks later, the plant is cut down and the wrapping removed to reveal stalks that are tender and white, ready to steam or saute. They have much the same sweet flavor as a freshly steamed artichoke.
Cardoons are a favorite of Italian cuisine, where they are served with Gorgonzola cheese or antipasto and sliced in salads.
Here in warmer parts of the metro region, including the District and south and east, gardens will successfully support artichokes and cardoons five winters out of six. Gardens verging into Zone 6 north and west of Washington, however, won't even see them through a single winter, especially the more tender artichoke.
Though both plants are at their best when grown as the perennials they are genetically intended to be, they can be treated as annuals and will produce, especially if started early enough.
The trick is to get them into the ground as large as possible in the spring and keep them going as long as possible in the fall. This past gardening year, for example, would have been a splendid one for artichokes.
Both plants require an abundance of compost, well-drained soil and sunshine. They will grow in shade, but will not produce flowers and will be more prone to aphids, which are about their only real pest. Cardoons will flower in partial shade.
They are difficult to find in retail stores, but quite a few catalogues carry seeds. Sources include the Cook's Garden (800-457-9705; www.cooksgarden.com) and Thompson & Morgan (800-274-7333, www.thompsonmorgan.com). Cardoon is often listed by its botanic name, Cynara.
Seedlings can be started indoors anytime in winter, with growing lights a scant few inches from the tops of growing plants.
Misting periodically (away from the lights) or running a humidifier nearby will help keep the lush foliage hydrated; blowing a fan on them for a portion of the day strengthens stalks.
The seedlings grow rapidly, and the gardener can expect to transplant them several times into containers of increasing size before they can go outdoors, in early May. At that time, they should be watched carefully for aphid infestations, which can be kept in check with frequent applications of insecticidal soap. A full-size plant will get four feet tall and as big around.
When buds appear on artichoke plants, they should be checked daily. While they are still closed as tightly as a fist, snip them at the base, with an inch or two of stem attached to enjoy at dinner. The earliest buds won't be more than two to four inches in diameter.
Artichoke and cardoons are well worth granting some space in the garden. Spectacular whether in the vegetable patch or the perennial border, they also provide a taste treat that is impossible to duplicate.
