Spring this year has been a series of fits and starts – but at its height, brilliance ofcolor. Perhaps those varied crisp sunny days allowed us to fully appreciate those magnificent flowering trees, tulips, hyacinths, hellebores and daffodils. Splendor in the garden! Beyond my garden gate is a bed of spring goodness. The different players gradually and at different intervals bloom, making such a remarkable presence and then they sadly fade. But I remind myself to wait, there will be more to come. It is not over…. Back in 2003, Marilyn Wilson provided a horticultural workshop in which the Allium siculum or “Mediterranean Bells” came into my life. It’s a gift that keeps on giving. I planted this bulb and oh, what a favorite of mine it has become. And it continues to just get better! These late spring, early summer colored delicacies are on dramatic 30-inch stems. The foliage is not flat but dimensional, twisting in a 3-D manner. The papery, tan seedpods seem to shift position towards vertical as they mature. Then they drop this graceful cluster of cream, pink, and wine-colored bell-shaped blooms. Hummingbirds are drawn to this fragrant plant. It’s a wonderful oddball of a flowering bulb that happily makes for my grand finale of spring. Click here to order this plant from High Country Gardens. |
Behind My Garden Gate: Mediterranean Bells
