SUMMERFLOWERING ALLIUMS

Loved for their showy spheres, alliums have long been stalwarts of late spring, but now new introductions are extending the party through summer

- BENJAMIN POPE

Valued for their firework displays that supersede the cacophony of tulips, alliums have rightly become a stalwart of the garden and a familiar addition to our borders in late spring. Not only are their flowers rich in nectar and attractive to bees and other pollinators, but the spherical inflorescences add colour and architectural form to borders when in flower, and their intricate dried seedheads persist through to autumn. Now, thanks to continued breeding and recent introductions, there are new cultivars of these attention grabbing blooms that arrive a little later to the party, and we can enjoy alliums in our gardens all summer long.

Most alliums prefer a spot in full sun in reasonable, free-draining soil but some, including Allium angulosum and A. nutans, will take richer conditions and a little shade, while A. ursinum (wild garlic) thrives in deep woodland. All alliums generally fit into one of two groups: those that are bulbous and have a resting dormant period after flowering; and those that are clump forming, growing through spring and summer with persistent foliage. Traditionally, the most popular garden cultivars have been of bulbous species such as A. cristophii, A. giganteum and A. schubertii, that flower in late spring and early summer, with a few later contenders including A. atropurpureum and A. sphaerocephalon. In recent years there’s been a shift in interest and availability for the later, often clump-forming cultivars that tend to behave more like herbaceous perennials than seasonal bulbs.