Catherine's Wheel

Patron saint of wheelwrights and spinners, Catherine of Alexandria, lends her name to this dramatic biennial flower. Happy in fertile, well-drained soils, it grows into a pyramid of widely spaced branches dripping with unique white flowers in clusters. The narrow curved petals of this eye-catching flower radiate outward like the spokes of a wheel, exposing prominent green centers. It is excellent as a cut flower and a choice rarity since its introduction to England from the Middle East in 1789.