It’s impossible to quickly summarize alliums, a gigantic group of perennial, edible and ornamental plants with different sizes, shapes, colors and bloom times. But it’s easy to sing their praises.
Alliums, members of the onion family with about 1,000 species, grow in most climates and have bloom times from early spring through fall and later in mild climates. Most are drought resistant and grow best in full sun, although some tolerate shade. Their multiflowered blooms are paradise for pollinators, but critters turn up their noses.
“They’re durable, long-lived, trouble-free for the most part, and deer resistant,” says Brent Horvath, owner of Intrinsic Perennial Gardens in Hebron, Illinois, who selects and breeds alliums. “They’re up-and-coming in popularity, too.”
Two main types of alliums—bulbs and clump-forming—each have their own characteristics. If you…
