It’s been a strange day today with space for reflecting on 12 years of work with children and families in my latest role, and 40 years of this work in total. So not much time for photos. So here’s one from the garden, a globe artichoke, grown for flower and not for eating. 

Apparently ..........

March 16th is known as Artichoke Day.
A single plant can produce up to 15 to 20 artichokes each year.
Artichokes are an immature flower. If left to mature, they will blossom into bright purple flowers.
There are 50 varieties of artichokes grown worldwide.
Artichokes are native to the Mediterranean region.
Castroville, a small town in California, is the self-proclaimed “Artichoke Centre of the World”
Artichokes are ranked as the number one vegetable in antioxidant count
One medium artichoke has more fibre than a cup of prunes.
Before the 16th century, women were not allowed to eat the vegetable because they were considered to have aphrodisiac properties.
Before finding fame, Marilyn Monroe, was crowned the first Artichoke Queen


I have now exhausted all known facts about artichokes .....