Emergence of the cardoon

A few years ago I was quite excited when I succeeded in growing a cardoon from seed. It is a relative of the globe artichoke and in Victorian times in the UK it was grown as a vegetable. Nowadays it's purpose is more decorative as it is quite a striking architectural plant, about 2 metres high and with large, silvery green, thistle-like leaves. Eventually the bud in the photograph will open out into a large purple thistle head which the bees love. In winter the foliage dies down then new growth appears again in the late spring or early summer. This year, it was much later in reappearing and I thought that I had lost it. So I was delighted when I spotted it emerging from behind the other border plants just over a week ago