Finding Britain’s tallest flower

TOWERING above the man who planted it, this 4.3m echium flower is as tall as a giraffe, and might just be the tallest garden flower in Britain... for now at least.

It was planted as a seed by John Philips in his back garden two years ago, and requires an entire watering can each day in order to maintain its lofty height.

The 68 year old credits the echium’s height to his special home-made compost, not to mention lots of tender loving care, and claims it is currently the tallest flower in a domestic garden in Britain.

But while Philips can enjoy basking in the echium’s glory for now, no doubt by the end of the summer other flowers – such as sunflowers, which regularly grow to up to 6m– will have crept up in height to steal the title. The tallest sunflower to date – measuring a whopping 8.02m – was grown in Germany in 2009. And in 2011 Eve Fielding grew a 7m sunflower in her back garden in Margate, Kent.

However, Philips has due cause to be proud of his echium, which normally grow to just 3.65m to 3.95m.

“It’s magnificent to look at, it really is,” said the former salesman, who lives in Ilfracombe, Devon. “I water it a lot, a can a day. And we use natural home-made compost so I think that’s why it’s done so well.”

The echium pininana, also known as the “blue steeple tower of jewels”, is usually found in the Canary Islands, but is well suited to the mild, maritime climate found in the south of England.

The plant grows a single spire festooned with blue flowers that are highly attractive to bees and butterflies.

Philips says he has looked around Devon to see if anyone can beat his achievement but is yet to find a taller flower.

“I’ve been driving around – there’s a couple of plants in Croyde, Ilfracombe and Minehead but none of them are as tall as mine,” he said. – Daily Mail