Ornamental Allium Flowers Will Make Your Borders Look Stunning

Alliums are some of the favourite flowering bulbs grown by gardeners.  When you see beautiful allium flowers in a garden or backyard, it is easy to forget that this family of plants include some of our favorite vegetables. These include onions, shallots and leeks as well as herbs such as garlic and chives.

For gardeners wishing to fill their beds and borders with pretty flowers in the spring and summer, alliums can provide some great colors. Not only will friends and relatives appreciate these ornamental looking plants, but some varieties of allium flowers will also attract butterflies and bees to the garden.

There are many different varieties of alliums to choose from that will give different colors to your beds and borders in late spring to early summer. Structurally these plants can also be very striking; the ornamental onions often having globe shaped flower heads.

One of the most popular varieties of allium flowers is christophii, which displays spectacular balls of pink blossom in the summer with a diameter of 10 inches and stems rising up to 20 inches. If blue is your preference for the garden then caeruleum is a slightly smaller plant that produces brilliant electric blue flowers in the summer.

In fact gardeners are spoiled for choice when it comes to alliums as there are so many producing a wide range of colors. Another popular choice is flavum with its golden yellow flowers. This plant is suitable for growing in dry, stony soil and will self-seed quite easily.

Neapolitanum produces white flowers that are scented and if grown under glass may produce its colourful display as early as spring. Alliums come in different sizes too with giganteum growing to a height of up to 60 inches, while the dwarf varieties such as moly may only grow to eight inches in total.

Alliums should really be planted in the fall after the soil has been properly dug over with good compost mixed in. Check the bulbs are in good condition before planting them out by removing the outer skin. If you see any traces of rot then the bulbs will need to be treated with a fungicide powder.

The bulbs of small allium flowers should be planted at a depth of approximately two inches, while larger bulbs will need to go in at a depth of around six to eight inches. They need to be watered regularly from spring onwards to build up strength for the rest of the year. This will also help prevent any yellowing of the foliage on the allium flowers.

Generally allium bulbs can be left in the ground from one year to the next and as a result you will be more likely to get good clumps of flowers forming over time. Another thing is allium bulbs don’t have to be planted in the ground as they can perform just as well in containers, especially the dwarf species such as moly and oreophilum.

Alliums do not repeat bloom but the flowers can be left on the plant to dry. The dried seed heads still look attractive in the garden and some people will use them in cut flower arrangements for the house.