Allium Miami

Allium 'Miami' is another excellent ornamental garlic recently introduced, resulting from the hybridisation of A. schubertii and A. atropurpureum. This beautiful variety forms spherical umbels, composed of very light mauve-purple star-shaped flowers at the top of tall sturdy stems in early summer. These inflorescences, resembling large pompoms, are fabulous in contemporary or natural-inspired compositions. Accompany your ornamental garlic with valerian, thistles, and grasses; these bulbs are equally at ease in light, dry soils in summer. The flowers are extraordinary in dry or fresh bouquets.

Allium 'Miami' belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family, just like leeks, onions, and garlic in our vegetable gardens. This plant is edible in all its parts, from the bulb to the flowers, which can be used to decorate and flavour summer salads. It is a beautiful horticultural hybrid that combines the qualities of its two parents: it has the airy inflorescence structure of the schubertii species and the more purplish colour of atropurpureum flowers.

Growing rapidly, it will reach a height of 90cm (35in) when flowering, sometimes up to 1.2m (4ft) under optimal conditions, and will spread on the ground by multiplying bulbs. The flowering takes place in June-July, in the form of large spherical umbels that form a half sphere. Each umbel is composed of 30 to 50 small star-shaped flowers with 6 petals carried by pedicels of variable size, all radiating from a central point. After pollination by insects, they produce loculicidal dehiscence capsules that remain attractive for a long time. The foliage consists of long, simple, basal green leaves that are linear and sessile with an entire edge and parallel vein. The leaves disappear at the latest in November, often as early as August in hot and dry climates. The plant then passes through winter in the form of a bulb.

Use Allium 'Miami' as a focal point in a contemporary or rural flower bed, especially in a dry garden. It will express its full potential in large groups of at least 10 to 15 bulbs. Plant it in a flower bed with white, mauve, pink, or red valerians, 'Buenos Aires' verbena, and shrubby artemisias, or as a border plant behind a row of neatly trimmed boxwood balls or small oak germander. It also works well along a wall or pathway, or in isolated clumps in the middle of creeping bugleweed. No matter how you use it, the decorative effect of this plant is guaranteed! It can also form beautiful pots that will be decorative from spring to autumn. Its flowers and foliage can be added to magnificent bouquets. To reduce the garlic scent of the flowers in fresh bouquets, for example, you can add a drop of bleach to the vase water or change the water regularly.

Allium 'Miami' pairs well with roses and chamomile in beds, or carrots and beets in the vegetable garden. It can repel aphids and other harmful insects. However, it seems to inhibit the growth of legumes. This plant is a poor companion for alfalfa and sainfoin, for example. Allium, like its relatives, is a medicinal plant.