Alliums You Didn't See Coming

Allium ‘Hair’ is the sort of plant that makes a border feel instantly more considered. Neat stems rise to curious summer umbels: compact purple centres surrounded by fine, green, hair-like tendrils. It’s delightfully architectural—perfect for contemporary schemes, gravel gardens, and adding a light, witty note among softer perennials.

• Distinctive purple-and-green flowerheads for a modern, design-led look
• Excellent in smart mixed borders, pots, and through gravel planting
• Pollinator friendly and generally left alone by deer

Plant in autumn in free-draining soil and let it settle quietly; by early summer it delivers its memorable silhouette with minimal fuss.

Allium siculum subsp. dioscoridis (often sold as Nectaroscordum) is a wonderfully architectural bulb, sending up tall, upright stems topped with softly nodding, bell-shaped blooms in green-tinged cream, delicately brushed with purple. It brings a note of quiet intrigue to late spring and early summer planting, and has an easy elegance that sits beautifully amongst grasses, geraniums and other naturalistic companions.

Fully hardy and happy to naturalise where conditions suit, it’s an excellent choice for borders and informal gardens, offering height, movement and a refined, slightly curious silhouette. Pollinators are particularly fond of it, and as with many alliums it is generally left alone by deer.

• Flowering: May–June
• Height: 120cm
• Spread: 30cm
• Bulb size supplied: 12/14
• Position: Sheltered
• Soil: Moist but well-drained
• Light: Full sun or partial sun

Allium amethystinum 'Red Mohican' PBR is a wonderfully characterful allium, bringing late-spring height and an artful, lightly tousled silhouette to the border. Deep wine-red buds open to a clean white, then finish with playful elongated florets that give each globe a distinctly modern, slightly bohemian air.

Planted in generous drifts, it rises above emerging perennials to provide elegant structure in May and June, and it is a particularly fine choice where you’d like a little movement and pollinator interest woven through a planting scheme.

• Colour progression: wine-red buds opening to white with elongated florets
• Season of interest: May–June
• Style notes: tall, architectural heads with a softly untamed finish

Allium schubertii is the sort of bulb that stops the eye mid‑stride. Each stem carries an open, starburst head of pinky‑purple, star-shaped florets, held on stalks of subtly varying length for an effortlessly sculptural effect. It is superb in sun-baked borders and equally compelling in a handsome container, where its architectural form can be admired up close.

Flowering in late spring into early summer, it brings a crisp, contemporary note to planting schemes and makes an exceptional cut flower. Left in place, the fading heads remain pleasingly structural, lending quiet drama long after the colour has softened.

• Colour: Purple (Pinks & Purples)
• Flowering: May–June
• Height: 60cm
• Spread: 30cm
• Position: Sheltered, sunny position
• Ideal for: Borders, Containers, Cut Flowers

Allium 'Forelock' is a wonderfully characterful allium, admired for its rich maroon-purple, egg-shaped flowerheads finished with a playful tufted ‘topknot’. Held on elegant stems, it brings composed, architectural punctuation to late-spring planting schemes—equally at home in smart borders or in generous pots placed where the detail can be appreciated.

As the season moves on, ‘Forelock’ continues to provide structure, pairing beautifully with airy grasses, soft cottage perennials, and other spring bulbs. A refined choice for sunny, sheltered positions with good drainage.

• Distinctive flower form: egg-shaped heads with a charming tufted finish
• Colour: deep maroon-purple (Colour Group: Purples & Blues)
• Garden value: strong late-spring presence for borders and containers
• Wildlife: pollinator friendly
• Practical bonus: deer resistant

Allium schubertii ‘Arctic Snow’ is an allium of real theatre: airy, starry white florets arranged in an architectural, firework-like sphere. Rising on sturdy stems above bright green foliage, it brings a crisp, contemporary note to borders, gravel gardens and smart container displays — and it is equally poised in a vase, fresh or dried.

Plant in autumn and allow it to settle quietly through winter; come late spring it provides a sculptural highlight that looks particularly refined threaded through ornamental grasses and soft, billowing perennials.

• Colour & form: White, star-shaped umbels with a distinctive ‘firework’ silhouette
• Garden uses: Borders & beds, containers, gravel gardens; excellent cut and dried stems
• Wildlife value: Pollinator friendly
• Practical virtues: Fully hardy and deer resistant

Allium 'Summer Drummer' is the sort of perennial that lends a garden instant composure. Towering stems carry tightly packed, spherical flowerheads in pale purple with lighter highlights, rising well above neighbouring planting for a clean, architectural finish in high summer.

Plant the generous bulbs in autumn and allow them to settle in; by their second season they begin to make a handsome, long-legged statement—ideal threaded through borders, cottage-style planting, or neatly designed city courtyards. The blooms are also excellent for cutting, bringing height and poise to arrangements.

• Bulb size: 18/20
• Habit: Clump-forming perennial with tall, upright stems
• Flowering: July–August
• Best for: Borders, cottage gardens, city & courtyard gardens, cut flowers

Make flower form the main event. Christophii, Schubertii and Hair each offer a distinctive look, giving this collection a playful, architectural character. Show each variety separately in product photography so the differences are clear.

What’s in the collection

• Christophii
• Schubertii
• Hair

What you receive

Bulbs per variety are shown above. Each size contains all three varieties.

Choose your size

• Small: £19.19 — save £0.58 against buying the same bulb or corm counts as individual packs.
• Medium Recommended: £34.99 — save £3.06 against buying the same bulb or corm counts as individual packs.
• Large: £50.69 — save £4.97 against buying the same bulb or corm counts as individual packs.