hi Shirley! that would be great, thanks! sending you an email :) wow, that was quick LOL

I have never managed to grow it from seed. I suspect our season is not long enough to ripen seed properly. I am experienced with Acanthus mollis and Acanthus spinosus. A. mollis seems to be more spreading than A. spinosus here, though it may just be a matter of time. If A. mollis was too rambunctious, I would remove it. But if A. spinosus eats the garden where I placed it, I will let it be. I love this plant. It did take three years before it began to show properly. The flowers and flower bracts are effective here into frost. But I would grow it for the foliage alone if it never flowered.

i have seen some beautiful examples of this plant at the Park of Roses here in Columbus, and a nice showing in a neighbor's shade garden. I have ordered seeds from Swallowtail. Any experience and thoughts on this project?

I don't have an Acanthus, though I have been wanting one since I saw it planted in a bed at the Science Center in Seattle a few years ago, lol. Fantastic looking plant. If it were me, I would probably pay most attention to the foliage of the companion plants. Personally, I would pair the Acanthus with a plant that has strappy/grassy foliage as an opposite texture and/or a plant that has delicate or ferny foliage to act as a softening contrast to the bold, jagged foliage of the Acanthus. A small Miscanthus ('Little Zebra' would add some nice looking gold variegation too!) for beside it and then perhaps a perennial geranium (like G. sanguineum 'Vision Violet', which has nice looking delicate foliage) in front. But that is just what I might do ;-) CMK