Silphiums have large leaves - they do get a bloom spike that exceeds 2-3 feet, but the majority of the plant would be in that size. The one in my yard has handsome leaves with a touch of red, they are thicky and slight glossy. I think it is probably Silphium compositum, the kidneyleaf silphium. Here is a link that might be useful:

Hi guys, I donÂt want to be a wet blanket here, but I thought I remembered hearing something about cocoa mulch once, but couldnÂt remember what it was, so I googled it, and of all the sites I looked at, I didnÂt find one that said it was safe for animals. Even the HersheyÂs site admits that it can be toxicÂthough they minimize it as much as possible since they clearly want to sell as much as they can. Here are links to some of the most credible sites I found. Snopes (fact or fiction) site: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp ASPCA: http://web.archive.org/web/20060415074908/www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_publicationscocoa And the Hershey site, which sounds just like any other infomercial, and makes the point that since the mulch helps keep down weeds, you donÂt need to use chemicals to do it, so itÂs actually SAFER for your animalsÂbut then, down on the bottom it talks about cocoa mulch getting mold (which it says is not harmful to your plants), and recommends using a chemical to control the mold! So donÂt use chemicals for one thing, but DO use them for something else! Duh! The ASPCA doesnÂt mention plants!Âbut it does say the mold is also potentially toxic to animals! http://web.archive.org/web/20020127003124/http://www.hersheys.com/mulch/FAQ.htm I also noticed that all the "benefits" they talk about from using cocoa mulch are true of ANY of the organic/wood mulches. They suppress weeds, they save water, and they improve the soilÂlittle by little. I looked at some other sites too, and didnÂt run into anything that talked about wind resistance. Before spending much money to get a bunch of it, I sure would try just one bag first in a windy spot to see if thereÂs anything at all to the claims. I looked at cocoa mulch once several years ago and decided to not get it because it looked to me like it would be "sharp" to walk onÂwhich might explain why cats donÂt like to walk on itÂbut I was thinking more in terms of ME walking on itÂand working in it. IÂm sorry :-( Skybird

Hi Pedrow you can plant some Chamecyparis or some Cupresus arizonica to obstacle the wind from entering your garden.You don't have to plant them close enough.In this way you'll avoid the "prison" look.In fact, if they are planted the one just next the other, the wind will get past the "wall" and go downwards with the same strength. Creating a sparse wall, will weaken the wind, diminishing its speed. You can alternatively put some tall and sparse fence with bamboo.They don't decompose and match every garden. Good luck

I love Jerusalem Artichokes/Sunchokes (Helianthus). (It's not the same helianthus as Lemon Queen mentioned above, which is a perennial sunflower.) They can get over 6' tall easily, though. They do multiply, but they're easy to control in our area if you just put them on the menu. Their tuberous root is a tasty starch you can cook. Showing up in several restaurants around here because of the emphasis on local produce. Apparently they're not best eaten raw, at which point they're called fartichokes. First I'd make sure they're not too happy where you live. They can apparently procreate like rabbits in some areas. I do love them here, though. Happy tall pretty flowers. If you don't want the tubers, the perennial sunflower Helianthus 'Flore Pleno' is pretty. Very tall with double flowers.