Senga's Blog
Eco-chic Outdoor Living & Exterior Design
May 2/10 - A Year in a Sustainable Garden: What's Happening Now - Alliums in Bloom!
A Sea of Alliums
We are still ahead in the growing season department here in the garden and this weekend saw the emergence of the first Allium blooms in our front yard. . I knew I was on to something last year when a cab driver pulled up next to our front yard (where all the Alliums are) and commented how beautiful the garden looked. Our front yard is primarly planted with ornamental grasses which emerge much later in the season so I decided to experiment with Alliums as a stop gap measure to what I call the 'shoulder season' in the garden. They dry up and retreat into dormancy immediately after flowering giving way to my ornamental grasses and perennials. And judging by the amount of cars that stop to look, it was a good garden design move.
The Perfect 'Shoulder Season' Flower
Aliums are one of those late spring/early summer flowering bulbs that I love to use - so much so that over the years I have planted over 400 Alliums. And the best part is that they come back every year and they also multiply! For those looking for a more architectural plant this one is a winner and goes perfect with our post and beam house.
Each fall I head out to the Walmarts, the Home Depots and other discount stores that sell bulbs and pick up bags of bulbs - the smaller Alliums such as "Purple Sensation' will come in bags of 10-25 for less than $10.00. The large baseball sized ones are pricier but I use them to accent areas and alongside walkways where my guest can enjoy them.
This group, the big ball onions with great spherical heads of bloom, is probably the best known of all the "ornamental onions". The group is better known as Allium section Melanocrommyum, with Allium giganteum probably the most famous of the lot. Available in the autumn where Dutch bulbs are sold, these spring to early summer blooming onions are easy to grow when given good drainage or light loamy soil in full sun, making spectacular accents in the garden.
Cultivars in my garden include:
Allium cristophii (often mispelled as christophii) is a species with blue-purple flowers. It is native to central Turkey (Kayseri), northern Iran, and Turkmenistan. It widely cultivated.
Allium 'Gladiator' - one of the many giant ball-shaped onions in varying shades of purple. This one is a cross between A. hollandicum (syn. A. aflatunense of Hort.) x macleanii (probably). It has robust growth green leafage, tall stems of about 4' (120 cm), and lilac-purple flowers.
Allium aflatunense 'Purple Sensation' - '''24-36" tall. Hundreds of violet purple tiny flowers compressed to gorgeous round balls (4-6" diameter) in late spring. Deer resistant. Great for cuttingand lilac-purple flowers.
Tips on Using planting and using Allliums - See My Video
