Alliums are members of the onion family, and the bulbs are planted in the fall and extend the bloom spring-bulb season.

The most spectacular is Allium giganteum with tall, stiff stems tapped with globes, averaging 5 inches in diameter. These flowering onions look exotic floating above the other plants. Colors range from white through lavender to dark purple. 

Plant a ribbon of these bulbs in the center of a perennial bed or put them around hostas, ferns, or daylilies to provide exclamation points.

The large globes are made up of tiny florets arranged in a similar pattern to the seeds of a dandelion puff. Designers have used this globe pattern to make spectacular round water fountains that you may have seen and admired. A rounded shape, composed of sparkling water jets or colorful flowers, has great architectural appeal.

Allium is the Latin word for garlic, so any allium plant has a pungent taste that deer and rodents avoid.

The smaller alliums bloom later than the giants. Try the ‘drumstick’, a dark purple, which blooms in July and naturalizes well, or Allium ‘Moly Jeannine’, which throws up 2-inch umbels of bright yellow florets in May. There are so many to choose from, and the more you have the more you will want.