I have a perennial growing in a vigorous clump which I can't i.d., and which I can't include a photo of because the camera was damaged and we don't yet have a replacement... The plant is about one to two feet tall, has a blue round globular flower at the top of a stem with leaves growing off the stem, the flower head made up of many bright deep blue florets, in total about 2-3 inches in diameter, slightly coarse looking close up but pretty from a distance. The stem is stiff, not as "thin"-looking as the photos of Agapanthus I have seen. the medium green leaves grow in periodic clusters up the stem and are not particularly attractive, rather pointed but a bit hairy, definitely not shiny or strap-like. The blue globular flower heads last about 4-5 days then brown off, but a new one forms at its base or slightly lower down, especially if the old one is dead-headed. There are no thistle-like prickles.
No, it is not -- it is more like the Agapanthus pictures I have found, except for the leaves. The flower is definitely a "ball", a round globe, made up of florets, with other globes starting further down the same stem, and the whole plant is rather coarse, not dainty, but it looks excellent in clumps in a full, English cottage garden-style area...
Thank you so much, abgardeneer... it may be Echinops, I will check out how that looks on the web sites... I did think that might be it, before, but forgot about that... and, I'll check the other one... So it isn't Agapanthus, thank you, Ron B. Great, thanks for the Forum!
Echinops and Eryngium are both armed with spines, so although the first especially would seem likely based on flower description it is definitely thistle-like.
Not a "thistle", allium, or agapanthus, but a Gentiana asclepiadea (Willow Gentian)... I discovered it in the Crown Publications Inc's Perennials for British Columbia ... [fabulous series of books on common West Coast plants for those new to the area!]... the blue tone is indeed "gentian blue" and most attractive.
Well, that's very interesting... In googling pictures of G. asclepiadea, I'm puzzled by all the photos that show a cluster of flowers on a central stem (similar to G. tibetica and some others)... The reason I wonder is because the form of G. asclepiadea that I'm familar with has flowers arising from the leaf axils along the long arching stems. Experts, please educate me.
The stalks on mine are very stiff and straight, some may flop over if drought-stricken... other flowerheads form in the leaf axils as the plant gets old... perhaps yours grow in a different type of soil than here, anyway.... mine is hard and gritty or hard and clay-ey Victoria BC type soil, amended to some degree with compost and mulch... this plant not a thing of beauty except for the gorgeous blue colour which really is spectacular in a clump of these early in the summer before the top flower browns off...