Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Albuca bracteata (syn. Ornithogalum longibracteatum)

Family: (Asparagaceae)

Tender bulb to 3′.  Pregnant Onion.  South Africa.  Beautiful spikes of white striped green, star-shaped flowers.  The smooth, green bulb becomes very large and produces many bulbils attached to the sides of the mother bulb.  These bulbils become flowering size very quickly.  The foliage is two inches wide and a smooth, glossy green.  An easy and fascinating houseplant.  Sun.  3 & T3, then may need 40º for 2-3 months.

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Alchemilla mollis

Family: (Rosaceae)

(P) to 2′.  Lady’s Mantle.  Asia Minor.  Beautiful, airy sprays of yellow-green flowers over attractive, scalloped leaves “of a very tender shade of greyish green and covered with fine silky hairs, which help their cup-like shape to hold raindrops which glitter like quicksilver.” (EAB*).  Mid to late summer bloom.  Sun/partial shade.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Allium angulosum

Family: (Alliaceae)

Hardy bulb to 16″. Mouse Garlic. Europe. Loose heads formed by multiple, cup-shaped flowers of pale purple. Blooms June to August. Sun. 3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Allium caeruleum (syn. Allium azureum)

Family: (Alliaceae)

Hardy bulb to 2.5′. Siberia, Turkestan. Rich azure blue flowers form a small head atop upright stems. Blooms late spring/early summer. Very sweet. Sun. 3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Allium flavum var. minus

Family: (Alliaceae)

Hardy bulb to 4″.  Central Europe to West Asia.  Lilliputian form of Allium flavum.  Loose umbels of sulphur-yellow flowers in early summer.  Grey glaucous foliage.  Loves a hot dry location.  Great in a rock crevice.  Sun.  3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Allium karataviense

Family: (Alliaceae)

(P) to 6″.  Central Asia.  One of the first ornamental onions to bloom, and one of the most spectacular.  Baseball sized, spherical flowerheads of pale, purple-pink stars appear in late spring.  The short, sturdy stems hold the blooms just above the wide, glaucous, blue, recurving, ribbed foliage.  Always attracts admiring comments in our Flower Garden.  Sun.  3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Allium moly

Family: (Alliaceae)

Hardy bulb to 12″.  Golden Garlic.  Southern and southwestern Europe.   Star-shaped, 1/2” diameter, bright yellow flowers appear in loose umbels atop leafless stalks in late spring above with flat, tulip-like, blue-green, basal leaves which appear in 2’s.  Sun.  3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Allium sphaerocephalon

Family: (Alliaceae)

Hardy bulb to 3′.  Drumstick Allium.  Europe, North Africa, West Asia.  Cylindrical, hollow, grey-green leaves to 14 inches long form a grass-like foliage clump in spring.  Sturdy, slender stems rise in late spring and are topped with oval, clover-like flowerheads. Each flowerhead is a tight, dense, one-inch umbel of tiny florets that emerge deep green but mature (top to bottom) to rose-purple, displaying an interesting bi-colour effect.  Excellent when weaving through their neighbours.  Blooms mid-summer.  Sun. 3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Allium tuberosum

Family: (Alliaceae)

Hardy bulb to 18″. Garlic Chives. Southeast Asia. Spherical, white blooms freshen the flower garden throughout August. Sun/partial shade. 3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Allium zebdanense

Family: (Alliaceae)

Hardy bulb to 16″.  Lebanon.  Dainty, cup-shaped, pure white flowers are held upright in loose umbels over dense clumps of smooth, bright green foliage.  Really brightens up the woodland in late spring.  Sun/partial shade.  3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Althaea cannabina

Family: (Malvaceae)

(P) 7′. Europe. A tall, wiry plant producing lavender-pink, cup-shaped blooms with darker central eyes in the leaf axils of slender, branching stems. The palmately lobed leaves are roughly pubescent with a greyish white underside. “The whole plant is light and graceful.” (GST**). Moist soil. Sun. 3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Alyssoides utriculata

Family: (Brassicaceae)

Subshrub to 14″. Bladder Pod. Mountains of Europe. Alpine with succulent, matte green leaves and panicles of fragrant, bright yellow, mustard-like flowers, which bloom with Phlox, Alyssum and Saxifraga moschata. Later on, interesting ovoid, inflated seedpods emerge and eventually fall apart to reveal their inner, translucent septum with seeds attached resembling a miniature Honesty plant. Sun. 4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Amaranthus caudatus var. gibbosus

Family: (Amaranthaceae)

(A) to 5′.  Dreadlocks Amaranth.  South America. This variant of Love Lies Bleeding will bring even higher drama to your garden. It is denser and more textured than the straight species.  The woolly, wine-coloured, tassel-like panicles develop through the season into knobby ropes that cascade nearly to the ground and may require staking due to their heaviness.  A prolific self-sower, this Amaranth emerges with warm days and thrives in summer heat and humidity. This variant is a prolific self-sower that typically stays true to its unique form. The colourful blooms can be used in dried arrangements. Sun. 3 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Amaranthus gangeticus

Family: (Amaranthaceae)

(A) to 5′.  Elephant Amaranth.  South America, Africa.  This plant is a delightful point of interest in the flower or vegetable garden.  The tiny, congested sprays of crimson flowers form rounded, dense clusters that make up one extraordinarily shaped form, rather like an elephant’s trunk, or a pointing finger or two.  Sun.  3 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Amaranthus hybridus var. erythrostachys

Family: (Amaranthaceae)

(A) to 5′.  Peruvian Tassel Flower.  Many branched panicles of crimson, tassel-like flowers accentuated by the deep maroon foliage of this plant, creates drama in the border.  Sun.  3 & T3