plume thistle 'Trevor's Felley Find'

an upright herbaceous perennial up to 1.2m high with downy purple-tinged stems, silvery green basal leaves and pincushion-like violet-purple flowerheads in summer, and in flushes afterwards if deadheaded; the flowers are good for pollinators, and if the last flowers are allowed to remain, the seed heads may provide food for finches