Echium pininana 'Blue Steeple' is one of the "wows" of the Chicago Botanic Garden. This biennial species spends the first year producing a palm-like, almost woody trunk to 3' to 8' high. The second year it sends up a dramatic flower spike with thousands of flowers. A native of the Canary Islands, this is a favorite of bees. At the Garden, seeds are sown two winters before the display, and are grown on the first year in 5- gallon containers in the nursery. Carefully overwintered, the plants are transplanted to their permanent site in the Garden after the last hard frost, where they produce the immense flowering spike.