Couple Grows Plant Over 18 Feet Tall

A couple have grown Britain’s tallest echium plant – at over 18 feet (5.49 m) tall.

Pam Betowski, 71, and husband Noel, 70, say the massive flower towers over their home.

The 18-foot four-inch echium eclipses the previous UK record of 16ft set by Darren Wilson in Saltash, Cornwall.

Pam, a woven textile artist from Sancreed, Cornwall, credits the huge growth to her husband Noel’s use of hügelkultur cultivation method.

It is a traditional way of building a garden bed from rotten logs and leaf debris.

The echium pininana is an endangered biennial plant from the Canary Islands – often called a ‘tree echium’ for its immense growing potential.

It is used as a bedding plant or planted in borders and grows best in full sun – particularly in the sunny southernmost counties of England.

Produced in association with SWNS Talker

Edited by Saba Fatima and Asad Ali