The Drumstick Allium (Allium sphaerocephalon) is one of the summer-blooming Alliums. It waits until late June to produce 1″ wine-colored flower heads on wiry stems. To create a color echo with a contrast in shape, we interplanted the bulbs with our Strawberries & Cream Asiatic Lily Mix. Also complements Daylilies such as lemon yellow 'Happy Returns.' Heirloom, 1594.
The genus Allium (the Latin means "garlic") offers colorful, distinctive, and long-lasting forms that are standouts in the early summer garden. Alliums are sun-lovers and prefer well-drained, even sandy, soil. Deer, mice, chipmunks, and related predators generally avoid this group, so you can plant with impunity. Tuck them among clumps of summer-flowering perennials where the Alliums' withering foliage will be hidden by the expanding perennials.
For more information on growing Allium, click Growing Guide.
