Alliums
Purple Allium
Bulbs in the bulb section usually have to be grown on site, a record of my own plants in my garden. But after a visit to a garden in the USA I'm desperately in love with purple flowering Alliums. I haven't got any yet, so I'm breaking my own rules!
Only Five Bulbs!
The Moosey Allium experiences are thin on the ground - specifically only five budget bulbs, purchased years ago from a reputable mail order firm, planted and never seen again. Alliums lost in the swell of spring perennial greenery, going nowhere, forgotten - dead and dusted.
Five bulbs? Ha! Now I want five hundred, after seeing the beautiful late spring display of Alliums at Chanticleer Garden, near Philadelphia. Wow! Look at them! Amaaaaaaazing!
Mass Plantings of Alliums
It's quite possible that I'm in the minority, and millions of satisfied gardeners converted to mass planting Alliums years ago. But I don't think that many local gardeners grow them. There may be a serious climatic reason for this, but anything that enjoys life in a British perennial bed usually does even better in New Zealand. Anyway, I'm about to find out.
Alliums at Chanticleer Garden
I'm going to spend next month's housekeeping money on some Alliums. I want bulbs with purple flowers (the whites look like my spring onions gone to seed), and mass plant them in the Shrubbery. I'll even shift out some coarse carex grasses to make room. They'll be visible from the house - I can see them now!
White Alliums
By the way, Chanticleer Garden, where I fell in Allium-love, is absolutely worth visiting. I drove for three hours to see it - worth every mile of USA highway and every gallon of fuel. And Chanticleer used an old trick beautifully, contrasting the tall purples with lower yellow flowering plants. The colour wheel works! I must remind myself to try this...