Alliums: Take a walk on the wild side

Economics. Pure Economics.


(long sigh...)


As garden design can be a costly passion, it is essential to make financially sound, rational plant-buying decisions.  The initial investment must be equal to or less than the accumulative outcome. Hence, at the nursery, tortuous decisions face the overwhelmed gardener at every turn. With the current trend towards the fanciful, extravagantly short-lived and zonally denied, gardening has become a game of chance. The biggest loser? Our piggy banks.


                                 

Let me introduce the allium......

Literally, rising high above the near-misses and maybes, the allium satisfies the most discerning soil-shufflers. Long valued for it's culinary attributes(garlic, onions, chives, shallots), the allium is now spreading its ornamental wings over the horticultural word. And why not?

A visually-striking form. Intense, Vibrant colours. Titillating flower structures. A presence that persists long after tiny petals have long disappeared. It is the bulb that keeps on giving.

Place your bet on the allium this fall.....and take a walk on the wild side!

A few of my favourites:

Allium shubertii

Allium christophii

Allium 'Purple sensation'

Allium caeruleum

Allium moly luteum

Allium 'Hair'

Allium sphaercephalon