Eryngium Big Blue

Eryngium ‘Big Blue’ is a striking sea holly valued for its intensely blue, spiny bracts and steel-blue cones in mid to late summer, bringing bold structure and long-lasting colour to sunny, well-drained borders. Fully hardy and at its best in full sun, it thrives in poor to moderately fertile soils and tolerates dry, sandy or chalky ground as well as coastal conditions. Reaching around 60–90cm tall, it is loved by bees and other pollinators, and is excellent for cut and dried flowers; for best results in Irish gardens, avoid waterlogged sites and overly rich soil.

To help give a clear sense of scale, the stone wall shown in our photos measures approximately 265cm in height. We also use familiar garden tools as visual references: a digging fork (110cm tall) and a hand fork (30cm tall). These are included purely as size guides to help you better judge proportions when viewing the images.

Position: Full sun

Rate of Growth: Average

Soil: Well-drained; poor to moderately fertile; light sandy or chalk tolerated

Hardiness: Fully hardy

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Plant at a Glance