For the first time, our artichoke has sprouted a flower pod. We’ve decided not to harvest the edible pod but to let it bloom into the gorgeous flower that artichokes bear. I just watered this plant on Saturday and did not notice the flower pod that seems to have sprung up overnight until Sunday.
I transplanted this from the plastic flowerpot where I tried growing this last year. It has been in its new spot since last fall. I’m hoping that it sprouts another pod because I would like to harvest one of these. Artichokes are usually 3 to 5 dollars (sometimes more) in the produce section of the supermarket.
Click on the image to enlarge.
I found this about the artichoke at Wikipedia:
The Globe Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus) is a perennial thistle originating in southern Europe around the Mediterranean. It grows to 4 to six feet tall, with arching, deeply lobed, silvery glaucous-green leaves 20 to 30 inches long. The flowers develop in a large head from an edible bud about 3 to 6 inches in diameter with numerous triangular scales; the individual florets are purple. The edible portion of the buds consists primarily of the fleshy lower portions of the involucral bracts and the base, known as the “heart”; the mass of immature florets in the center of the bud is called the “choke”.
When I acquired this succulent, I did not keep the label that tells me the name of this species. Today, I spotted one in the garden shop, picked it up and photographed the label on the plastic flowerpot. It identified this as “Frosty Pink,” a type of Kalanchoe, pumila to be exact. 
