I am growing cardoon this year – I grew artichokes last year, but it is my understanding that cardoons get much larger, and the flowers or thistles are beautiful. In order to eat them, you have to blanch them. It is traditional in the piedmont region of Italy to eat them dipped in a hot bath (bagna cauda) of butter and anchovies, with a shaving of white truffle. Or, you can fry cardoons in batter.
Now, the digging and dividing of perennials, the general autumn cleanup and the planting of spring bulbs are all an act of faith. One carries on before the altar of delayed gratification, until the ground freezes and you can’t do any more other than refill the bird feeder and gaze through the window, waiting for the snow. . . . Meanwhile, it helps to think of yourself as a pear tree or a tulip. You will blossom spectacularly in the spring, but only after the required period of chilling.
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