Allium x cultorum Little Sapphire

Allium 'Little Sapphire' is a delightful ornamental garlic, which produces an abundance of bright mauve ball-shaped flowers in summer. It is not very tall, but develops into a compact and dense clump of long upright leaves with a glaucous green colour. The flowering lasts all summer, animated by a continuous flight of pollinating insects. It thrives in the sun, in ordinary but well-drained soil. It is simply superb along a pathway or flower bed, as well as in a rock garden or in a container on a patio. Its flowers last a long time in fresh or dried in bouquets.

Allium 'Little Sapphire' is a variety of ornamental garlic hybrid whose lineage is somewhat obscure, with some sources linking it to A. senescens, and others to A. cernuum. All of these plants belong to the Amaryllidaceae family. They are cousins of garlic and leeks, with which they share a characteristic scent in their foliage that is perceptible when crushed.

The 'Little Sapphire' cultivar develops in spring from a bulbous rhizome that forms a small clump of upright, fairly thin, linear, glaucous leaves. It reaches about 30cm (12in) in all directions. Flowering takes place from June-July to August-September. From the centre of the clumps emerge 40cm (16in) tall stems, each bearing a solitary inflorescence in the shape of a sphere measuring about 5cm (2in) in diameter. The inflorescence is composed of a multitude of tiny star-shaped flowers in a mauve pink colour turning pale mauve. The flowers are nectar-rich and honey-producing. The deciduous foliage dries up in October.

Allium 'Little Sapphire' looks wonderful planted en masse along a pathway, in a rock garden, or as a border for flower beds. It is incredible when combined with flowers in shades of purple, pink, and blue in a romantic flower bed. It goes well with catmints, bellflowers, and agastaches. In an unusual flower and vegetable bed, it can be planted with chives, over-ripe chard with colourful petioles, Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum', purple basil, and many others. For a more "dynamic" effect, its flowers can structure a contemporary garden where several geometric shapes oppose each other. It can also be planted with stipa, landscape roses, and trimmed boxwoods.

In short, the planting possibilities are endless!