Angelica Gigas

This has to be one of my favourite plants. It’s a completely astonishing creature and if somebody said the Triffid had been based on a real plant, then Angelica Gigas would be my very first choice.

The plant came from China, Korea and Japan and because it has a natural habitat that is moist and woody, you’ll get the best effect by planting Angelica Gigas in a moist soil and a partially shady position. If you do, you can expect a plant that is around seven feet tall and about four feet across.

So why the Triffid impression? To begin with, this biennial plant springs from the earth in properly bizarre fashion, but bringing out huge almost fluorescent green leaves that are deeply cut and enormous, and then the rest of the plant is a purple-bronze colour, giving a stunning contrast. The flowers, like any other angelica are large domed heads, between eight and ten inches across with florets of little flowers starring the surface. Those little flowers are the colour of pickled beetroot when the first emerge and fade too a lovely rusty-bronze over time. These colours give the impression of something vaguely metallic or perhaps even lacquered, rather than an entirely natural plant.

Set against a bright wall, or in company with bright yellow Acers or other light and bright plants, the Angelica Gigas looks like a huge modern sculpture, but planted in a darkish corner or allowed to thrive in woodland areas it has a less artificial and more naturally occurring appearance.

© blueworldgardener.co.uk