Guess what this is.

If you guessed an "artichoke in bloom" you would be correct. I bought an artichoke plant (my first ever) at Farmer's Daughter in the summer of 2017 and planted it in a large container with cabbage, parsley, etc. to create an edible display. The plant produced only one artichoke, which I couldn't bring myself to harvest -- I just left it to grow. And I sure am happy I did -- what a wonderful surprise when it started to create a flower. It became so heavy I had to cut it --- and it lasted for weeks in a vase.

Here is a description I found online -- "The globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) is a variety of a species of thistle cultivated as a food. The edible portion of the plant consists of the flowerbuds before the flowers come into bloom. ... Another variety of the same species is the cardoon, a perennial plant native to the Mediterranean region."