Does anyone know the name of this shrub?

[vegelady]

Hi we moved in a year ago and this evergreen shrub appeared then disappeared in the summer, probably due to drought, but has since reappeared and is growing fast. I would be grateful to learn the name of it, thanks

[mcdood]

Maybe a fatsia?

[Scarlet]

Acanthus - bears breeches

It sends up dinosaur like spikes of flowers.
I love it! Great for back of the border.

[Guest]

Acanthus mollis - bears breeches

Edit: Doh! Scarlet beat me

[vegelady]

thank you all, for being so quick! It does have a spike coming and it is at the back so look forward to seeing what it throws up!

[Scarlet]

That's a first for me

[Scarlet]

This is mine last year - I am on a meter so don't water anything and it didn't look great. But the flowers are impressive.



It usually looks stunning.
They split well too - this is a baby from the parent plant

[vegelady]

oh wow, i cant wait to see it flower, thank you, the best bit about moving all the lovely surprises in the garden! We did buy from gardeners though!

[nickdub]

Expected you wanted to know this :-

"Acanthus leaves are a common decorative motif in furniture, jewellery and classical architecture"

so next time you study a Roman pillar capital, you can amaze your friends with the name of the leaf decoration :-)