Postcards from the garden...Silybum

I am beginning a new series for the summer...Postcards- from the garden, from the field, from my travels, from whatever interests me. The first postcard is one of my favourite plants, Silybum marianum, also known as milk thistle. You have to love a plant called silybum just for its name, but I love the look of it too. It is grown as an herbal remedy for diseases of the liver and gallbladder in Europe although considered an invasive weed in North America and Australia. I have seen it grown as an effective and beautiful natural barrier to protect crops from foraging wildlife. I grow it in a large pot in my garden, the seeds smuggled through the border at great risk.