Allium sphaerocephalon
round-headed leek bulbs
- Position: full sun
- Soil: fertile, well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: average
- Flowering period: July to August
- Hardiness: fully hardy
- Bulb size: 5/6
Small, egg-shaped, claret-coloured flowerheads appear like drumsticks on tall, slender stems above strap-like, mid-green leaves in mid to late summer. Planted en masse in a border in full sun, these diminutive claret flowers look great emerging from a screen of foliage, or against a backdrop of ornamental grasses. They gently fade as summer comes to a close. - Garden care: For best effect plant the bulbs 8cm deep in natural drifts. Avoid soils that are too wet, and split and divide large clumps in autumn or spring.
Campanula lactiflora 'Pritchard's Variety'
milky bellflower
Masses of bell-like lilac flowers
Agastache 'Blue Fortune'
Mexican giant hyssop
Spires of lilac flowers and aromatic leaves
Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'
cranesbill
Elegant blue flowers, good for groundcover
Achillea millefolium 'Lilac Beauty'
yarrow
An unusual lilac, yarrow
Iris 'Superstition'
bearded iris
Purple-black flowers
Alliums
There was a time when alliums were thought of only as vegetables. However, the taller varieties with their huge globe flower heads are now one of the stars of the architectural plant world. The stiff lollipop heads off-setting sharp vertical...
Read full articlePrairie
Indulge a passion for ornamental grasses by creating a prairie- or meadow-style garden. They can be richly planted with native wildflowers or a selection of complementary perennials and self-seeding annuals to create a naturalistic planting effect. Prairie gardens often...
Read full articlePlant spring bulbs
Spring bulbs, such as daffodils and hyacinths, can be planted whenever the soil conditions allow. As a rough guide, cover them with about twice as much soil as the bulb is deep: so that a 5cm (2in) deep bulb would need a 15cm...
Read full articlePlanting bulbs
Bulbs are ideal for anyone who rates themselves as 'keen-but-clueless' because they are one of the easiest plants to grow. Provided you plant them at the right time of year at more or less the right depth, they will reward...
Read full article
The classy drumstick allium - slender and upright with a tight head of summer-green buds maturing to maroon - before fading to parchment in late-summer sun.
Val Bourne - Garden Writer