Alliums

Garlic chives blooming in fall.

Right now there isn't a whole lot blooming in my small herb garden, but the garlic chives are making up for any lack of blooms and are flowering handsomely.

Bees seem to love the little white stars. There always seems to be at least one on the flowers in the company of a few little black ants. The long tapered leaves of garlic chives are broader than regular chives and the blooms are much larger. Their taste is oniony with a hint of garlic.

This year I switched from common chives to 'Profusion' chives (which I got from Richters, a Canadian nursery and mail-order company that specializes in herbs). The mauve flowers are sterile and do not set seed. In the past, I've had to cut my chives back hard after they flower to rejuvenate the foliage and to prevent them from seeding everywhere. Profusion Chives seem to stay small and compact throughout the growing season. Simply remove the faded flowers and you're good to go.

The Toronto Botanical Gardens. 

They weren't marked, but I think these are Allium 'Giganteum'.

As well as these edible members of the onion family, there are ornamental alliums as well. This June I was lucky enough to visit the Toronto Botanical Gardens when the alliums were in flower.

The Toronto Botanical Gardens

The Toronto Botanical Gardens

Allium christophii 

Allium christophii up close and personal.

The Toronto Botanical Gardens

I was particularly struck by the fact that the alliums had been grouped into small clusters. The effect was soft and cloud-like. 

Private garden Mississauga, Ontario

Of course, you don't need a large garden to group your allium bulbs. I thought they looked wonderful in this much smaller garden that I visited last May (visit this garden here).

Myself, I've always had a tendency to dot them around the garden with other flowering bulbs just as you see here:

Private garden, Toronto Ontario

Old unknown variety

I've primarily shown the tall round balls, that one usually associates with ornamental onions, but there are many colors, shapes and sizes available. For instance, there are shorter, bushier alliums as well (see above).

Nodding Wild Onion, Allium cernuum

The colors range from white, pink, yellow, mauve, purple and burgundy. As well as the rounded flowers typically associated with the tall ornamentals, there are more oval-shaped blooms and floral fireworks of the kind you see here.

Joe's Garden, Brampton, Ontario

When flowers are finished, Alliums turn into magic wands. The decorative seed heads add a nice architectural element to any flower bed.

Millenium seedheads

You do have to keep a watchful eye on the magic hidden in those wands. Alliums can be prolific self-seeders!

Alliums beginning to open in a Toronto, Ontario garden

If you haven't done so already, fall is the time of year to order and plant allium bulbs. With all the inspiration I found this summer, I'd like to take better advantage of the wide range of colors, shapes and sizes these members of the onion family offer. So I called in the advice of an expert.

Pam Dangelmaier is co-owner and manager of Botanus, a mail-order bulb and plant company located in Langley, British Columbia. It's hard to choose from the nice variety of allium bulbs Botanus has on offer in this fall's catalogue. I had to begin my questions by asking Pam if she has a personal favourite.

"I love Allium sphaerocephalon," Pam says, "Not only is the deep burgundy color enticing, but it is also a literal 'bee-magnet'. As a beekeeper, I am always looking for easy to grow plants that the bees love and this one ticks all the boxes."

Allium 'Millenium' blooms in mid to late summer. Look for this allium at your favourite nursery.

Alliums that flower in late spring pick up where tulips leave off and bridge the gap nicely between spring bulbs and early summer perennials, but there are some alliums that bloom in the summer as well. 

I asked Pam for some advice as to how best to use alliums throughout the full gardening season. Here's her suggestion:

"Allium 'Ivory Queen' is a nice dwarf variety that blooms in early summer. Follow these up with a gorgeous display of Allium bulgaricum and Allium giganteum. Allium 'Millenium' produces large chive-like blooms in mid to late summer that make great additions to cut flower bouquets. All are easy to grow and maintain and look fantastic in any garden (or container)."

Allium 'Ivory Queen' (left) has creamy white globes on stems that are about 4" tall making it a great option for underplanting taller varieties. Bloom time: Mid-spring. Full sun/partshade. Planting depth: 10 cm (4 inches), Height: 10 cm (4 inches), Spacing: 10 cm (4 inches). Other attributes: Bee-friendly, fragrant, makes a good cut flower, drought tolerant and deer-resistant. USDA zones: 5-9.

Allium 'Giganteum' (right) has mauve-purple flowers is one of the tallest alliums available. It requires full sun and well-drained soil. Bloom time: Late spring.  Planting depth: 20 cm (8 inches), Height: 100 cm (40 inches), Spacing: 30 cm (12 inches). Other attributes: Bee-friendly, fragrant, makes a good cut flower, drought tolerant and deer-resistant. USDA zones: 6-9.

Allium bulgaricum

Allium bulgaricum has fragrant pink bell-shaped flowers that hang in a downward curving umbel. Bloom time: Late spring. Planting depth: 10 cm (4 inches), Height: 90 cm (36 inches), Spacing: 10 cm (4 inches). Other attributes: Bee-friendly, good cut flower, drought-tolerant and deer-resistant. USDA zones:6-9.

Allium 'Millenium' has compact, upright foliage and mauve flowers. Bloom time: Mid to late summer. Full sun. Look for this allium next spring at your favourite nursery. Height: 40-50 cm (16-20 inches), Spacing: 25 cm (10 inches). Other attributes: Attractive to bees and butterflies, drought-tolerant and deer-resistant. USDA zones: 5-9.

Alliums planted in among some hostas.

As well as being great self-seeders, tall ornamental Alliums do have one other drawback: their foliage can be somewhat untidy looking especially as they begin to go dormant. I asked Pam if she had any suggestions for hiding this less than appealing attribute:

"It's true, the foliage is usually not very attractive and actually begins to yellow and fade before the flower heads bloom. A great 'trick' is to plant them in amongst low growing perennials and ground covers such as hostas, grasses and hardy geraniums."

A white allium in my garden.

Once you've got your alliums selected, there is only one more issue: where to plant them and with what?

The where is easy: alliums like full sun to light shade and well-drained soil.

Allium 'Purple Sensation' and Euphorbia polychroma in my garden.

The other partners are Euphorbia 'First Blush' (variegated in the middle foreground) with Euphorbia 'Bonfire' which is to the middle left.

One plant combination I have in my own garden is to mix Allium 'Purple Sensation' with a trio of Euphorbias. The three Euphorbias are nestled together at a corner I pass frequently.

Purple alliums mixed with pink Columbine is another pretty combination.

Eryngium (Sea Holly)

I asked Pam if she had any suggestions for plant combinations as well:

"One combination I love is Allium sphaerocephalon with Eryngium (Sea Holly). The burgundy and the blue look awesome together! I also think taller growing alliums such as 'Purple Sensation' and 'Mount Everest' pair nicely with hostas and perennial grasses."

Many thanks to Pam for taking a moment to answer all my questions at a very busy time of year. I hope you have found some inspiration to start your fall bulb planting!

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. 

I benefit in no way from any purchase you might make from Botanus.

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Spring on a Budget

The Rockery at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, Ontario last spring.

There is a touch of color in the trees now. 

Though the afternoons have been gloriously warm, the nights are chilly and I find myself reaching for a sweater or light jacket as we head out for our evening walk with the dogs.  

One of the ironies of gardening is that we need to be thinking about the beginning of the next gardening year at the end of the present gardening season. Along with thoughts about adding simple fall flourishes, I have been trying to wrap my head around what I need to add to my flowerbeds for next spring.

Darwin Tulips at the RBG. The orange tulip is Tulipa, 'Daydream'. 

Sorry, I couldn't see an I.D. on the deep magenta tulips.

I  would love to open the glossy catalogues that I received in the mail and order just about everything, but the reality is that I have a limited budget for spring bulbs. So how can I get the most spring color for the least amount of money? Time for a bit of strategy!

And apart from monetary considerations, what would compliment the collection of bulbs I already have?

I absolutely want to add snowdrops, both the common single variety and the more interesting doubles. I have admired them in Carolyn's nursery's blog for a number of years. Recently, I noted that I can now find some of these more unusual varieties of snowdrops through Botanus in Canada.

I also want to add yellow 'Winter Aconite'. Not only do they flower earlier than most other bulbs, they can also handle the shade, which I have in abundance in the back garden. I hope to leave them to naturalize the under huge maple tree. ( Botanus has them on sale. Bonus!)

I love, love blue scilla. I have them in the front garden, and would like add more, so they can colonize the back yard as well. I often find these bulbs on sale in area stores and so I am going to buy them locally to save on shipping. 

I got these Chionodoxa forbesii 'Pink Giant' last year from Gardenimports (I notice they are already sold out at Gardenimports, but are still available at Botanus).

My picture does not due them justice. They were really, really pretty.

More please!

There is also a crisp white, deep sky-blue and a gentian blue options available at both Gardenimports and Botanus if I have any funds left over.

....And while I am still thinking small scale, maybe I should order a few of these 

Anemone blanda 'Blue Star'.

I have no Muscari in the garden at the moment. The blue ones are affordable and relatively easy to find. There is also a pink variety, pale sky blue and multi-toned Muscari that are more a bit expensive, but hard to resist.

Gosh, I am beginning to feel poorer already! 

Better start thinking about some larger bulbs before all my budget disappears.

Narcissus 'Ice Follies' was one of my favourites in my garden last spring.

There always seems to be standard daffodils and narcissus in the clearance bins at local stores, so I am going hold off and wait for the sales.

Narcissus, 'Soestdijk' at Edwards Gardens

Specialty varieties seem disappear early, so I would like to get a jump buying some of these.

Narcissus, 'Thalia' and white anemones, which I admired at Edwards Gardens this past spring.

I adored these simple white Narcissus that I saw on a number of blogs 

and in local area gardens. 

These yellow and white ones were also pretty at Edwards Gardens. Narcissus 'Avalon' or 'Pipit'  are also going on my wish list. 

One of the most beautiful Narcissus in my garden last spring was called 'Amadeus Mozart'. With its ruffled orange cup 'Amadeus Mozart' is as pretty as a summer party dress. I didn't manage to get a picture of it but you can find see it at Gardenimports here.  

Daffodils and Narcissus that will naturalize themselves in the garden seem like a worthwhile investment (over most types of tulips which are good for 3 or 4 years). 

Although squirrels will to dig them up if you don't plant them properly, they prefer tulips as snack food. I plant my bulbs extra deep (about 8 inches) and stamp the soil down firmly with my foot after I bury them. If the squirrels are going to dig them up for fun, I want the little beggars to have to really work hard to find them. 

I see that garden writer, Judith Adams (Garden Making magazine) also recommends in a recent post that you avoid setting bulbs on the surface of the soil as you work. She also suggests that disguise your work with a thorough drenching with a watering can and then add a covering of leaves to hide your buried spring treasures. Read more here.

More spring planning in another post to come....