Traditionally, onions and garlic have their fixed place in vegetable gardens, as vegetable onions, garlic, leeks, chives, and other onion plants are indispensable flavor enhancers in any kitchen. Whether as a vegetable or seasoning for meat, vegetables, salads, eggs, and much more – these healthy onion plants are hard to imagine being absent from the kitchen.

However, those who also appreciate the beautiful flower heads in white, purple, and violet will be pleased to know that breeders in recent years have created new ornamental allium varieties, which have long found their way into flower beds and borders.

There, the delicate bells or large flower balls, depending on the variety, often rise above the heads of their bed neighbors from February to September. And especially in combination with ornamental grasses and low perennials, they create striking, vibrant accents.

The various types of ornamental garlic are just as easy to care for as all other bulb plants. Most of them thrive in nutrient-rich soil and a sunny location. With the two woodland dwellers, wild garlic and bellflower garlic, you can even elegantly and beautifully enrich the shady areas under mature trees, bushes, and hedges. Depending on the weather, these plants bloom vigorously in early spring, turning the ground into a white sea of flowers. You don’t need to worry about propagation. If the plants become too abundant, simply dig up the excess bulbs.

In autumn, you can plant the bulbs of your new Allium. Follow the same procedure as you would for tulips, daffodils, and other bulbs. Add some organic fertilizer to the planting hole and place the bulbs at a depth that is three times their diameter. When the first green leaves appear in spring, it's a good idea to rake some more organic fertilizer between the plants. This way, you’ll have many years of beautiful, strong, and blooming plants.

Dwarf varieties grow only about 15-30 cm tall and are perfect for use in rock gardens or the front edge of borders. Popular choices for this purpose include the white or blue-flowering Blue Tongue Allium, the yellow Gold Allium, and the carmine-red Rose Allium. At around 40 cm in height, the unusually flowering Allium schubertii and Allium vineale are just as impressive, as is the nodding Allium Allium cernuum.

Large, majestic ornamental alliums, which can grow up to 150 cm tall, often tower over ornamental shrubs and amaze every viewer. Such giant alliums, which mostly bloom in violet, include Allium 'Forelock,' Allium giganteum, Allium 'Gladiator,' and Allium 'Ambassador.'