Susan Durisek’s blog

Ornamental alliums rise above their cousins, the savory onions, chives, garlics we love to eat. In the spring, these special bulbs send up scapes crowned by unusual umbelliferous, globe-shaped lollipop mops composed of tiny individual star flowers. Some, like the giant magenta ‘Gladiator’ bear 5 inch spheres atop 5 foot stalks, making them striking architectural garden accents; others, like the tiny pink A. unifolium create a more delicate, 6 inch high naturalized groundcover. Bordering on bizarre, A. ‘Hair’ has the look of a wild creature with unkempt green tresses, and the fizzy A. schubertii resembles a burst of fuchsia fireworks.

For use as cut flowers in arrangements, you can find varieties in shades of pink, purple, white, yellow and blue. Wildcat fans might appreciate the wonderful cereulean ‘True Blue’. Two of my favorites are A. karativiense ‘Ivory Queen’, which bears compact snowball flowers low to the ground, over fairly wide tulip-like leaves; and the happy golden-yellow of A. moly, or lily leek. There are also some fall-flowering varieties. The pink-tinged A. senescens ‘Mongolian Gem’, and the sturdy 3 foot tall edible white-flowering garlic chives, A. tuberosum, attract insects to the garden in droves; save the peppery seeds for sprouting later. I’ve had great success with transplants from Michler’s Greenhouses on Maxwell St.

Alliums need to be planted in fall, so that they have at least three weeks to establish roots before freezing temperatures set in. After overwintering, they’ll send up greenery and flowers in the spring and early summer, then go dormant again when the heat is on. Plant them in a sunny spot, and check for good drainage, so the bulbs won’t rot. Another plus: even though we enjoy their flavor, rodents, deer and other foraging animals do not, so these bulbs tend to survive and even multiply in perennial borders. 

There is a vast supply of fall-planted bulbs of all kinds at local garden shops in September and October, but if you’re looking for a particular unusual variety, or just want to learn more about what’s available, here is a list of some on-line ornamental Allium sources:

White Flower Farm whiteflowerfarm.com

Brent and Becky’s Bulbs: brentandbeckysbulbs.com

John Scheepers Flower Bulbs: johnscheepers.com

American Meadows: americanmeadows.com

Jackson and Perkins: jacksonandperkins.com

Van Bourgondien: dutchbulbs.com

You can find help with garlic from Leo and Jean Pitches Keene, the folks at Blue Moon Farm in Richmond. They’re at the Lexington Farmers Market until late October, and can be contacted also via the internet at bluemoongarlic.hypermart.net. Leo says that even the garlic they raise as an edible vegetable has blooms which have an ornamental quality.