Check out our latest magazine... Read Online

Now's the Time to Plant Alliums for a Spectacular Display Next Year

Tuesday, 14 November 2023 11:56

Easy-going and beloved by bees – now’s the perfect time to plant allium bulbs for a spectacular display next year. Flo Whitaker picks some of her favourites...

Providing they have well-drained soil and a sunny location; alliums will thrive on neglect. Flowering from mid-May, through June and July, they help fill the difficult gardening gap between the tail end of spring and the start of summer. ‘Purple Sensation’, (90cm) is deservedly one of the most popular varieties, with fat heads and sturdy, wind-resistant stems. Sphaerocephalon – a horrid name, but terrific plant, bears curious drumstick-like flowers and reaches 70cm.

‘Schubertii’, (60cm) is a real show-stopper, with a firework explosion of tiny lilac stars.

Most alliums come in purple/mauve shades, but some offer different colourways. Allium moly is a tough little species form, (20-30cm), copes with ultra-dry soils and bears golden yellow flowers. When happy, it will self-seed and make a long-lived colony.

For white blooms, ‘Mount Everest’ has huge, densely packed snowball heads that reach 1.2 metres or more. ‘Graceful Beauty’ (30cm) produces elegant flowers with pretty violet-coloured stamens. A. nigrum (50cm) has creamy-white blooms. It’s a super-tough performer and will grow through rough grass and prairie-style plantings.

If pink’s your thing, try ‘Pink Jewel’, (70cm) with its compact, densely packed heads. A. roseum, (30cm) sometimes sold as ‘Rosy Garlic’ is a lovely species form that produces flowers in a random selection of pink shades; some pale – some dark. Like A. moly, its seedlings will charmingly drift through a border.

The astonishing flowers of A. caeruleum, (60cm) are a proper ‘true blue’, which is quite a rarity in the plant world. It looks particularly good when planted in seaside/gravel gardens.

Alliums are sun-worshippers, but there’s always exceptions to family traits. A. siculum, (90cm) enjoys light shade. The flowers resemble an illustration from a fairy story book; nodding pagoda bells in claret and cream, arranged in candelabra-style. As the flowerheads fade, they dry themselves into crazy shuttlecock shapes.

Alliums produce foliage long before their flowers appear. This can result in old, raggedy leaves spoiling the scene just as flowering commences. However, they won’t object to the judicial removal of tatty foliage if it offends the eye. Tired leaves of taller varieties can be masked by planting companions with good foliage, such as herbaceous geraniums, euphorbias, geums and alchemilla.

As members of the onion family, alliums have a distinctive aroma, but you won’t notice this in a garden setting, so don’t be put off as they make fantastic border plants and superb cut flowers. The dried seed heads are perfect for decorating Christmas wreaths and garlands. When using in fresh flower arrangements, cut the alliums well in advance and leave them standing in water overnight in a cool outdoor place before bringing indoors. This will give sufficient time for the unwelcome ‘scent’ to disappear.

Share

More from Home and Gardens

  • Blooming Times: Winter Wonders

    Flowering in the coldest months may seem counter- intuitive, but from a plant’s perspective, there is a distinct advantage – a lack of competition. Flo Whitaker picks six of the best winter- scented shrubs

  • Blooming Times: The Answer Lies in the Soil

    Soil is the gardener’s greatest asset. Understand it, look after it – and many of your horticultural problems will resolve themselves, writes Flo Whitaker

  • How to Cover Up Shabby Garden Walls and Fences

    If your garden fences or walls are looking a bit shabby it might be time to find a cover up solution. Read on for Sara Whatley’s transformation ideas.

  • Homes Extra: Shed Space

    Are you thinking of a new shed, greenhouse or garden room? Sara Whatley gives you some food for thought on all three

  • Gardening: Choose a Clematis for Every Month of the Year

    The clematis family offers flowers in a wide array of colours and shapes, and there are varieties for nearly every month of the year, says Flo Whitaker

  • Blooming Times: Top of the Pots

    How are your patio pots? Show-stopping, or lacklustre? Time to try some different planting combinations, suggests Flo Whitaker

  • Kids Zone: Get the Kids Growing

    Read on for some green fingered ideas to get the kids involved in the garden from Sara Whatley

  • Blooming Times: Wisteria Hysteria

    With its exquisitely fragrant, show-stopping blooms, wisteria is the queen of spring climbers – yet it can be frustratingly sulky and thuggish. Flo Whitaker offers a quick troubleshooting guide to floral success

  • Blooming Times: Dahlia Mania

    Inexpensive, hardworking plants with blooms in a vast array of colours and shapes - no flower is perfect, but dahlias come pretty close, says Flo Whitaker

  • How to Create 3D Walls in Your Home

    Create walls that look incredible and feel amazing too with the use of 3D wall panels. Sara Whatley looks at this feature wall phenomenon.

  • Blooming Times: Spring Fever

    February is often labelled the cruellest month in the horticultural calendar. However, Flo Whitaker suggests there is still plenty of opportunity for growth

  • Blooming Times: What's in a Name?

    Botanical Latin may seem daunting, but it’s designed to be helpful and informative, says Flo Whitaker

  • Top 10 Garden Birds to Spot on the Isle of Wight

    Alice Johnson from the RSPB describes some of the species of birds you might see during the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch this January.

  • The Best Christmas Gifts for Gardeners

    Thinking about a Christmas present for a gardening friend? Or perhaps you’re anticipating a gardening gift voucher and fancy treating yourself? Flo Whitaker suggests some essential hand tools that won’t break the bank.

  • Gardening: The Benefits of Hedges

    Gardeners are a flower-obsessed lot, greedily seeking out the latest, brightest blooms. That’s all very well, but ephemeral flowers need a stage to perform on. Plant a hedge - they add structure, benefit wildlife and look good all year round.

  • How to Create a Happy Home Workspace

    Getting the right home office set up can be key to productivity and happiness. Sara Whatley shares her workspace ideas.

  • Gardening Facts or Fictions?!

    The horticultural world abounds with bad advice and old wife’s tales, but some pronouncements are scientifically sound, says Flo Whitaker, as she asks, “True, or false?”

  • Fill The Gaps in Your Garden With Stunning Shrubs

    If your garden’s looking parched and bare, why not invest in a few shrubs to fill the gaps. Flo Whitaker picks six of the best for late summer colour.

  • Summer in the Garden: The Alan Titchmarsh Column

    This month, Alan Titchmarsh discusses an array of wildlife we may not expect to see in our gardens over the summer months.

  • Grow Your Own Strawberries

    Nothing evokes summer more than the scent and taste of strawberries. Their botanical name is ‘Fragaria’ – how utterly perfect, writes Flo Whitaker.

Get Social

© Beacon Magazine Isle of Wight and Aiir 2024 | 8-10 Dodnor Park, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 5XE