I am slowly becoming obsessed with Allium (or “ornamental onion” for you less evolved species). Â Three autumns ago I planted my first Allium bulbs and was all jacked up when most made an appearance that following spring:
I immediately fell in lust and was pleased to know that it was possible for the bulbs to not rot over the winter (for those uninformed, my soil drainage blows chunks).
Of course, they all ended up only surviving that spring and were not to be heard from again. But that was OK. Â It was a small financial investment and minimal sweat equity required for the reward of those phenomenal blooms.
Last fall, I gave it another shot and planted just one Allium ‘Globe Master’, that giant blooming onion I’ve seen in so many other gardens. While there was promise that this would return year after year, at $9.95 a bulb I decided to play it safe.
I can tell you now, it doesn’t matter if it fails to make a repeat showing in 2015. What I got in 2014 was enough for me:
The 8″ to 10″ bloom was such a presence and a focal point both in bloom and out of bloom:.
Hell, I even made it my social media profile pic when it was only partially in bloom:
It wasn’t until late July when the stem actually dislodged from the ground, so two and a half months of interest was worth the $9.95.
I also started to acquire some other perennial Allium in spring and added ‘Blue Eddy’ as a groundcover that not only bloomed in late July, but also avoided any destruction from the rabbits and the deer:
Allium ‘Mt. Sinai’ was also added and bloomed like mad from early August until now:
I will continue the hunt for additional cultivars this fall and hope and pray that my attempts to find areas of better drainage in my yard pay off and we have repeat bloomers next summer.
On top of that, I just placed an order with Bluestone Perennials for a whole bunch of different Allium bulbs that include (all photos from the Bluestone Perennials website):
Allium ‘Schubertii’:
Allium ‘Azureum’:
Allium ‘Drumsticks’:
And one additional Allium ‘Globe Master’ because, well, it’s awesome.
Wish me luck!
