As the strap-like leaves die off, Allium christophii sends up stout stems topped by sculptural blossoms. The spherical heads, an airy array of delicate amethyst stars, span nearly 10 in., and are almost too big and too beautiful to be real. Breathtaking in borders and bouquets, Star of Persia’s fawn-colored seed heads dry perfectly. Plant a drift in a well-drained spot and surround with the enduring leafy foliage of Geranium ‘Buxton’s Variety’. This Allium withstands both deer and rodents in our garden.

Blooms June

Size: 2' 0" high x 8" – 10" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

True to its name, ‘Gladiator’ is a crowd pleaser that asserts fantastic giant globes shouldered by tall hefty stems and rugged sword-shaped green basal foliage. Vibrant purple blooms, 4 to 5 in. wide, exuding a sweet yet pungent aroma, are composed of tight set green-eyed florets with a metallic lustre. A hybrid between Allium hollandicum and most likely Allium macleanii, this Allium can be staged throughout a stand of white and yellow Verbascums for spectacular colors and divergent flower forms.

Blooms May–June

Size: 3' 0" – 4' 0" high x 8" – 12" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.

We have Jan Bijl to thank for this dazzling 1971 cross between Allium christophii and Allium macleanii. Hoisted upon staunch 2 ½ ft. tall, smooth green stalks, the gigantic densely packed orbs occasionally exceed 11 in. across, fostering a long-lasting flourish of countless star-shaped purple florets that glisten with a silver-laced metallic sheen. Adored by bees, florists and plant aficionados, ‘Globemaster’s otherworldly blooms work well when planted amid perennials such as Verbascum nigrum ‘Album’ and Alchemilla ‘Robusta’, so its strapping gray-green leaves will be hidden once they decline.

Blooms May–June

Size: 2-1/2' – 3' 0" high x 8" – 12" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.

Aptly named, this ornamental Allium creates quite a stir as several hundred petite, deep purple flowers squeeze into one sensational-looking baseball-sized inflorescence. A selection made by Mr. J. Bijl in 1963 to produce a dark, vividly hued flower color, ‘Purple Sensation’ rises on tall beefy bare stems from a low nest of narrow, long twisting leaves that disappear around blooming time. Its strongly defined form can be repeated throughout the perennial border, delivering concentrated violet punches and dynamic counterpoints to softer shapes and hues, while remaining equally delightful when seed heads appear.

Blooms May–June

Size: 2' 0" – 3' 0" high x 6" – 8" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Kudos to Allium expert Mark McDonough for this sensational easily grown cultivar, which recently won the 2018 Perennial Plant of the Year award. Close-knit, slightly flattened, slender deep green leaves craft a lustrous compact clump that’s topped with vibrant rosy-mauve spheres on naked 18 in. scapes. Tantalizing butterflies and other pollinators, the profusion of showy 2 in. wide sterile blooms never reseeds and lends colorful long-lasting accents to bouquets. A supposed Allium nutens offspring, vigorous ‘Millenium’ can be situated near the front of the border, peppered amid the rockery or added to a cottage garden, where it resists deer and rabbits.

Blooms July–August

Size: 15" – 20" high x 12" – 18" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.

Impressive, 5 to 6 in. creamy white spheres perch atop brawny, straight, green glistening stems, evoking a snowy mountain’s majestic appeal. The tallest of the white flowering Alliums, this long blooming luminous beauty can be superimposed en masse against a dark backdrop or interplanted amid quantities of purple flowering Alliums. Coveted by gardeners, florists and bees, vigorous ‘Mont Blanc’ yields long strapping leaves persisting ‘til flowering time and is distasteful to those fretful deer.

Blooms May – June.

Size: 3' 0" – 4' 0" high x 8" – 12" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Enormous 6 in. wide snow-white globes, each densely housing up to 50 petite star-style florets with chartreuse eyes, crest tall strong stalks. Grounded by semiupright strap-shaped grayish green basal leaves, the dazzling long-lasting blooms delight pollinators, offer an intriguing dried effect and make luminous additions to cut arrangements. This carefree AGM recipient can be featured in daring sweeps as well as scattered amid Sesleria ‘Brushstrokes’ and Spodiopogon sibiricus in meadow-style plantings, dryscapes and cottage gardens.

Blooms May–June

Size: 3' 0" high x 8" – 12" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.

Evoking the charged energy of a bursting firecracker, some 200 miniature star-styled florets top stiff pedicels, which shoot out in all different lengths from the flower’s center. Sponsored by wavy, 1 in. wide straps and thick staunch stems, the fantastic spidery globes—enormous, loosely arranged lilac-pink wonders tailor-made for arrangements—measure at least a foot across and lay claim to their name as the entire ball eventually blows away, scattering seeds. This uniquely shaped ornamental onion’s native home is the Mediterranean and central Asia, so naturally it relishes a warm sunny niche, and when dormant, a toasty dry spell.

Blooms May–June

Size: 12" – 18" high x 8" – 10" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.

Narrow curly bluish green leaves fashion a dwarf tightset pinwheel-like rosette that evokes swirling eddies and inspires the cultivar name. Bred by onion enthusiast Mark McDonough, this unique Allium senescens var. glaucum selection serves up rounded pastel lavender pink flowers on 6 in. stems. An adaptable drought-tolerant pollinator minion, Allium "Blue Eddy" wards off deer, favors well-drained crannies, makes a lovely cut flower and can be utilized in the herb garden, amid stone work or along pathways.

Blooms August-September

Size: 8" – 12" high x 8" – 12" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Arising from narrow grassy leaves, the tall and upright, slender stems present sumptuous thickset globes in blazon crimson-purple hues. An intriguing bicolor effect is created as green buds slowly open from the bottom up. Prized by bumblebees, the long lasting, 2 in. wide blooms assure a breathtaking summer spectacle en masse with swaths of Echinops ‘Blue Glow’ and Monarda ‘Violet Queen’ interspersed.

Blooms July–August.

Size: 2' 0" – 2-1/2' high x 5" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.

Favored by pollinators and plant purveyors, ‘Summer Beauty’ begets plenteous, large lavender-pink pompoms balanced atop sturdy, 20 in. tall stems. The upright strap-like leaves distinguish a neat polished green basal mound that announces fall with golden highlights. Full of long-lived vim and vigor, this sterile Allium can be ushered into the rockery or a patio pot so its sprightly pastel-hued accents can be relished all summer long.

Blooms June–August

Size: 18" – 2' 0" high x 12" – 18" wide.

Zone 4/5.