‘Millenium’ ornamental onion blooms for several weeks in midsummer. Photo courtesy perennialresource.com
Allium is the family name for garlic, chives and onion, which in their own right, have ornamental characteristics. But the bloom time and beauty of truly ornamental alliums earn them spots in our flower gardens.
These bulbs and bulb-like plants are so garden worthy that the National Garden Bureau has declared 2016 the Year of the Allium.
The edible alliums are among the world’s oldest cultivated plants. There are 500 to 750 allium species, including garlic (A. sativum), and the nodding onion (A. cernuum), one of about 100 species native in North America.
In the last two years, I’ve planted about three dozen ornamental alliums in my garden, primarily because of when they bloom. Alliums have seen an uptick in popularity for several reasons, including:
- Their bloom times are just enough out of sync with the big spring bulb shows and summer flowers, that they help bridge or extend the seasons.
- Deer and rabbits avoid them.
- They are pretty much trouble free.
In their naturalistic creations, well-known garden designers, the late James van Sweden (1935-2013) and Piet Oudolf incorporated ornamental alliums along with coneflowers, sedums, salvias, native grasses, daffodils and other low-maintenance perennials. Lurie Gardens in Chicago’s Millennium Park is first-rate example of Oudolf’s design.
Bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects are frequent visitors to alliums. Photo courtesy perennialresource.com
The spring-blooming ‘Purple Sensation’ (A. aflatunense) and summer-blooming ‘Millenium’ are two popular cultivars, but there are many others. The flowers of ornamental allium tend toward the blues, purples and pinks, but there are white and yellow ones, too. Bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects are frequent visitors.
The flowers and stalks of edible alliums, such as onion, garlic and chives, can be used to add savory bits in salads or to flavor meat, egg and vegetable dishes. Ornamental alliums are not considered edible.
Plant ornamental alliums in spring or fall, in well-drained, sunny or partly sunny, locations. Plant them in clumps or clusters for the best show. You’ll find alliums as bulbs, or already growing in nursery pots at garden centers. Look for edible alliums in the herb and vegetable areas and the ornamental types with perennials at garden centers or online retailers, including bulb merchants.