The Beautiful Onions of Spring
The genus Allium includes onions, garlic, leeks, scallions, and several dozen ornamental species. All Alliums are alliaceous, which is an excellent word you can hold onto for occasions when you want to impress others with your botanical knowledge. It means they smell like onions.
In our garden we have two ornamental Alliums that bloom in spring. Both are at their peak this weekend.
Out in the front garden we have a clump of the Allium hybrid ‘Globemaster’. ‘Globemaster’ sounds like it could be a character from The Avengers (its superpower: deters deer and rabbits! Actually, that is an important point, deer and rabbits really do not like Alliums).
We started with three ‘Globemaster’ bulbs, and now have a clump of about 18. Alliums like to spread if the conditions are right. Baby Allium bulbs (called bulbils or bulblets) split off from the big bulbs but also are created in the flower clusters and drop to the ground.
As ‘Globemaster’ has spread, it has retained its height (about 3′-4′) but the flowers have become smaller than the original 10″ globes. Probably it’s time to dig them up and replant.
In the back garden, we have A. aflatunense ‘Purple Sensation’. This Allium also likes to reproduce – from a handful of bulbs it has created a drift about 6′ long, even though it gets only part sun (full sun is optimal). ‘Purple Sensation’ is shorter and has smaller flower clusters than ‘Globemaster’.
Finding companion plants is an important challenge with spring-blooming Alliums, because the foliage dies back and can leave you with bare ground by summer. Among the ‘Purple Sensation’ bulbs we have Great Forget-Me-Not (Brunnera macrophylla), Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea), and Short’s Aster (Symphyotrichum shortii).
Also, last year I planted three ‘White Swan’ Peonies (not yet blooming). In past summers I have been not quite satisfied with the look of this bed after the Alliums were done – but we’ll see how it goes this year.
I certainly do like Alliums, though no one has ever accused me of being an Allium fanatic (as opposed to, say, tulips).
There are also a couple of summer-blooming Alliums in our garden but I will leave those for another day.
Do you grow spring-blooming Alliums? If so, which companion plants do you think work best?
gardeninacity 
I’ve always thought they were stunning but never got around to planting any. Yours look great and I may be inspired! Have to think about what to plant them with
I hope they grow well for you if you plant them.
Stunning! Especially leading up to the arbour 🙂
Thanks!
They look lovely, especially next to a pathway. Yes, I grow Alliums too, but not these large sort. I also find it hard to get the companions right. Mine are among the Veronica that has just started flowering, but when I have to cut that back it looks a little sparse…
Hmm, I haven’t tried Veronica.
Well done! I have a few here, yes, but only one kind and nowhere as many as yours. Your garden looks lovely. They do self-seed; though the original plants seem to be overwhelmed by other herbs (it’s in the herb bed) there’s a whole new clump starting nearby.
What kind of herbs are they growing with?
Garlic, marjoram, chives, and an apple mint and tarragon. The mint could be snaking its way underground and causing trouble.
Mint is definitely a troublemaker.
I’ve grown alliums for the first time this spring. They look wonderful poking up through the other plants, and I’m glad to hear they spread themselves so satisfactorily!
If they are happy they will spread.
Beautiful! I do not have any, and I’m not sure why except I’m not a big bulb person. I’m thinking i need to take a few pointers from you and embrace some bulbs. 🙂
Your depriving yourself if you don’t include bulbs in your garden.
These drifts are stunning. I have the Globemaster in my garden and really like them, but my goodness, yours are a show stopper.
Thanks, that’s nice of you to say. The bulbs themselves did all the work after the first few were planted.
Yes, I do grow alliums. In the past I haven’t had much luck with them but I tried them ‘one more time’ and found a spot they like. I started with three and I have 7 of them this year. Yay… With them there are some bearded Iris that bloom about the same time, then some wild iris (can’t remember what they are, and some Rudebekia and some tall phlox behind them. I don’t hardly know they are gone when the seed heads dry up. I love those tall purple spheres. They make me happy. They appear as Nature’s balloons to me. They seem cheerful.
Nature’s balloons! I like that!
Beautiful pictures of some beautiful plantings. You’ve done a great job placing them and they seem happy in your garden. I grow a few alliums, but they’re not nearly as nice as yours, what a very alliaceous post!
Why thank you, I try to be as alliaceous as I can.
I love alliums, but the foliage die-back is a real downer. I have Purple Sensation too and this year tried A. cowanii, which has done well and is a really useful size and colour (white). I am hoping it is a good spreader.
It has been for me.
I’ve been working on overcoming my longstanding antipathy to alliums (born of decades of waging fruitless war against the wild variety, which is a noxious weed hereabouts) and as luck would have it I discovered that the previous owners planted a small group of what might be A. christophiii near the mailbox. I have to admit I find them very pretty, so perhaps it’s time to admit that not all members of the allium family are necessarily the Evil Empire…. in the garden, at least. (As food, they all make me deathly ill and thus must be avoided at all costs!)
The varieties I have behave pretty well, in my experience.
I am so envious! I planted some and they came up beautifully their fist year, but this year (their second) I got lots of leaves but no flowers at all (insert sad face). I’ve got to do my research and see what I’m doing wrong, because seeing yours have really made me want them to bloom next spring.
Maybe it’s the drainage? Do you have clay soil?
I’ve planted them with ornamental grasses, especially the evergreen ones that don’t get cut back to the ground in late winter, like Mexican feather grass, or the ones that flower about the same time, like Melica altissima. Or Carex, which also flowers around the same time and looks its best in late spring.
Ornamental grasses sounds like a good idea.
My first attempt at growing Alliums was a complete failure – I planted them where they got a bit too damp and rotted. Not one to be held back, I tried again last year in two different spot and am thankful that they’ve all appeared this year (and multiplied). I now need to concentrate on hiding the foliage in one bed in particular. I used a peony and it’s not quite doing the job I thought it would.
I do hope they spread themselves around like yours has Jason – they are best in larger drifts I think and your drifts are right up my street. Writing this has just reminded me that I was given some seedlings from a dwarf variety last year, I must remember to have a look for them tomorrow.
I hope your seedlings are doing well! Sounds like your other Alliums are doing well now.
I love alliums, but mine didn’t come back this year. Only one. The Star of Persia alliums did come back okay. I will replant.
I don’t have Star of Persia, but I looked it up and it is very attractive.
I love them and grow them, but this year they were grazed by greedy chickens (not mine!!). Very frustrating as they only left a handful to bloom.
Oh no! They deter rabbits and deer, but are gobbled up by chickens. Fortunately I have no actual live chickens in the garden (though I have metal, concrete, and ceramic chickens).
I like alliums but for some reason I’ve never grown them. They obviously do well in your yard!
Thanks, I don’t give them any special coddling.
Clearly, your conditions are better for allium than mine. I have Globemaster and love it, but it seems to be petering out. I will try digging it up, dividing, fertilizing and replanting in the fall.
Do you have a spot for it with good drainage?
Jason, you know I have several different alliums, including Purple Sensation. I am really a much bigger fan of those alliums (chives, allium ‘Summer Beauty’, and the curly blue allium) with foliage that can add to the garden rather than need to be hidden. I grow my Purple Sensation amidst my balloon flowers and nepeta subsessilis; both of which are slow to get going in the spring.
The ‘Summer Beauty’ you sent me is doing really well – can’t wait to see it blooming. I was inspired by the masses of this Allium at the Lurie Garden.
I do grow them but mine aren’t this amazing large variety which I must say I NEED to put in!!! Your shots are so beautiful! Your alliums really highlight your beds in these photos Jason! Thank you for the inspiration…Im looking forward to your post on your summer bloomers! Nicole
I’m sure you would really enjoy these two varieties, Nicole!
Your park way border looks wonderful Jason, your neighbours must be thrilled! Does anyone else grow plants on the verges like you?
There are a few people in the neighborhood who garden on the parkways, including one on our block. Most don’t, though.
Love them!!! Your gardens are stunning:-) I had no idea that if they get smaller it must be time to replace them:-( darn! I only have them in my front gardens. I love them blooming with spring iris:-)
You don’t need to replace them, but they should be lifted and replanted so they are not crowding each other so much.
Great globes of alliums. As they are quite tall they can be planted towards the back of the bed certainly behind the foliage of geraniums
Yes, Geraniums are probably really good companions for spring Alliums, I should have thought of that.
Glad to help
So beautiful–just stunning. The only alliums I have are the common Garlic Chives, though I’m looking forward to their blooms in late August.
Garlic chives are very attractive, and bees love the flowers.
I love that drift of globemaster! Gorgeous! I have purple sensation too, currently with forget-me-nots, it is lovely isn’t it, I really hope mine spreads. I do love alliums!xxx
Forget-Me-Nots should look great with Alliums – they don’t grow well for me, though.
When we visited the Iris gardens, Alliums were used very effectively in the borders with peonies, lupine the iris and some other perennials I can’t remember. “Alliacious” sounds like a word invented by Mary Poppins. I’ll bet if she gardens she will have plenty of Alliums.
I have only a very few on Iris tectorum. Yes, Alliums seem to be a good choice for a Mary Poppins Garden.
Your allium displays are spectacular. The color is just so vivid. I’ve tried a few but without much success. This year a clump is about to bloom but will have to wait to see what kind survived.
Reading these comments is enhancing my appreciation of Alliums.
stunning! I’ve added Globemaster and Round and Purple to my collection last autumn and I’m thrilled as they perform much better than all the rest and keep flowering for many weeks, pretty sturdy too.
What a fabulous display of alliums you have. Thanks for the new word. Alliaceous, I love it.
Kind of rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
I like Allium very much. I am not a collector either, but do enjoy them each year.
Same here!
The spring flowering Alliums don’t do very well for me, they need more moisture than many people imagine. I am more successful with the later summer flowering ones. A. cristophii does OK but doesn’t usually return for more than two years, I admire your drift of ‘Purple Sensation’
I’m still waiting for my summer alliums to bloom.
I like geraniums both native and non-native as companions for my alliums….also irises look great with alliums too.
Good ideas – I’ll keep that in mind.
Hello Jason, I love alliums and particularly Allium Christophii, which I had several in the previous garden. I’m planning to plant many bulbs this autumn. They do self-seed well easily – have you found yours spreading by seed, they look like ordinary grass when they first germinate and appear.
Yes, that’s exactly how they look when they are self-sown. Mine have definitely been doing that.