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 Most people have seen pictures of the giant allium
but there are many other options of flower sizes and heights
suitable for any size and style garden. Most allium flowers are
globe shaped and all are made of tiny florets. They make great cut
flowers, the pollinators love them, and deer tend to leave them be.
Plan for months of color by including a variety of alliums that
bloom from late spring through early summer. Longfield Gardens’
Planning Guide for Alliums (Longfield-gardens.com) showcases the
various alliums, their size and bloom time to help you plan. Add
alliums to the zone four to eight garden in fall when planting your
other spring flowering bulbs like tulips and daffodils.
Dress up the front of a flowerbed or rock garden with Allium
karataviense. It may be small in stature at only eight to ten inches
tall, but the broad grey-green leaves and five-inch round,
silvery-pink flowers provide big impact in the late spring garden.
Add years of spring beauty with Purple Sensation. Its shimmering
four-inch diameter, violet-purple flowers are held above the leaves
on 24 to 30” tall stems. It provides nice height and vibrant color
to the early season garden. You will enjoy these alliums and their
offspring for years to come.
For something uniquely different add Allium bulgaricum, also known
as Nectaroscordum bulgaricum, to perennial and informal gardens. The
cluster of drooping cream and burgundy bell-shaped flowers are
followed by seedpods that lift themselves skyward. This provides an
interesting vertical accent in the garden.
Gladiator and Globemaster are sure to have passersby and visitors
stopping to take a second look at your garden. Mix them in amongst
perennials and add to mixed borders. Gladiator has blue-violet,
six-inch diameter flowers that are smaller than Globemaster but
Gladiator blooms earlier and stands a foot taller and the leaves are
long lasting. Both are sure to grab your attention and that of
pollinators.
Stretch your enjoyment into early summer with Ambassador. Its dense
five- to six-inch, violet-blue flowers are a deeper color than most
alliums. What’s even more impressive is these large flowers are atop
four- to five-foot stems. Like the other alliums, bees and
butterflies love it.
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It’s no surprise that Allium christophii is a
favorite among gardeners. The eight- to ten-inch diameter,
violet-pink flowers have spikey florets and a silvery sheen that
makes them look like globes in the garden. Though this allium is
only 12-18” tall, it has a big presence in the garden and is very
long-lasting.
Allium schubertii produces even larger, 12” diameter flowers on
stems of a similar height. Some of the star-like florets are closer
to the center of the flower than others and this makes the blossom
appear to be expanding, like fireworks in the garden. Save some of
the seedheads and use them in dried flower arrangements.
The flowers of heirloom Allium atropurpureum are dome-shaped rather
than round. Their dramatic, dark burgundy color and upright stature
add structure to the garden. They are also long-lasting cut flowers.
End the season with Drumstick allium. The egg-shaped flowers are
raspberry on top and green on the bottom with long slender stems.
They are perfect grow-through plants and good companions for
ornamental grasses.
Add a variety of alliums to your garden this fall and enjoy the
added color, texture, and height this group of plants provide. You
and the pollinators will be glad you did.
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including
the recently released Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and
Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow
Anything” DVD instant video series and the nationally syndicated
Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and
contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned
by Longfield Gardens for her expertise to write this article. Her
web site is www.MelindaMyers.com.
[Text from file received from
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