Echinacea purpurea 'Alba'

This popular coneflower is also marketed as E. White Swan. It is a stalwart of many a perennial garden; it has white daisy-like flowerheads with a central orange/brown cone.  Echinacea p. Alba flowers throughout summer into autumn. 

The tiny flowers are the cone, which is why when fertilised, the outer white florets fall off.  Just the flower cone remains to form the seedhead. Flowering can be extended by cutting back stems as they fade, or for something different, remove the petals as they fade, and you are left with an attractive cone which lasts into winter, and also the birds feed on the seeds. Echinacea p. Alba is also an excellent plant for cut flowers and a bee feed plant.

Echinacea is a short-lived perennial of around five years; it can disappear within a much shorter time frame if it is not planted in its optimum requirements of well-drained soil in full sun, especially important over winter. Improving your soil by adding grit at planting may improve this.

Image attribution  Kor!An (Корзун Андрей)