Allium

Purple Sensation

Seasonspring

ScentFaint, sweet-sharp, mildly oniony if crushed

Vase life7-14 days

Colour

“Plant them through low planting and watch them float above everything like purple full stops. The dried seed heads are just as good as the flowers.”

— ROSIE

I think alliums might be the most underappreciated architectural plant in British gardens. Forget whatever you think you know about ornamental onions — Purple Sensation is a thing of genuine wonder. A perfectly spherical globe of tiny star-shaped violet flowers on a straight, leafless stem, rising above everything else in the border like a lollipop designed by someone with impeccable taste.

They flower in May and June, which puts them in that gorgeous overlap between spring and summer when the garden is at its most optimistic. I plant mine through swathes of nepeta and geranium, so the purple globes float above a haze of blue and mauve. The effect is dreamy, slightly surreal, like a Monet painting that's come to life.

Each head is made up of hundreds of individual tiny flowers, and when you look closely — really closely — each one is a perfect six-pointed star. From a distance they read as a solid sphere. Close up, they're a constellation. I love plants that reward you at different scales.

As a cut flower, they're wonderful — long-lasting, sculptural, and they make everything else in the arrangement look more interesting. They also dry perfectly. The seed heads are just as beautiful as the flowers — each tiny star becomes a tiny green lantern that fades to a pale straw colour. I leave mine standing in the border right through winter.

The only thing that might put you off is the faint onion smell if you crush the stems. I consider this character.

If you want to try allium for yourself, here's where I'd point you:

Flower Stationmid

“Flower Station carry allium stems in late spring and they're brilliant in a tall, narrow vase. Two or three stems — that's all you need for something genuinely striking.”

Order This Flower →

✿ From the folklore cabinet

Alliums are members of the onion family, and in many cultures, hanging garlic and onions above doorways was believed to ward off evil spirits. I like to think Purple Sensation is the glamorous cousin who turned up to the family reunion in a couture dress while everyone else wore wellies.