September Song
seems she was photographing eccentric garden art from every garden she visited around the world, which was quite a few as she was the then president of the International Hardy Plant Society. She planned to publish a book on eccentric garden art.
If she were to visit now she would find Allium karataviense, in the spring garden. This Allium is a striking plant with broad grey-purple leaves at ground level and stout six inch stems that carry large umbels with many small pink flowers, Allium cernuum, one to two feet tall with pink, red-purple or white flowers, Allium christophii, with large spherical umbels made up of star-shaped purple flowers held on a stout stem. They are attractive even when the flowers dry out.
Other alliums are Allium moly, an early summer allium that likes woodland conditions and has bright yellow flowers, Allium tuberosum or Chinese garlic chives that grow in clumps and have attractive white umbels of star-shaped white flowers and Allium giganteum. In a hot sunny spot it can grow to six feet tall. Mine get to three feet. I like to see this allium planted in wide spaced groups thrusting out of a perennial bed like sentinels
On this years list of new Alliums to try are, Allium nigrum, broad, strap-shaped basal leaves with a stem that can reach tree feet and large umbels of white flowers; in the center of each is a blackish ovary that produces a dark eye and I am sure others will catch my eye as I peruse my catalogs.
With all this planning I must not forget to plant out my new peonies and divide the iris. Really, there is a lot of work ahead of us now that September has arrived. Do you have any new discoveries, plantwise, that have you drooling?
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