Modern Gardens - April Digital Sampler

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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT… Alliums With their tall, dancing, SHOWY HEADS in a range of colours, these ornamental onions look gorgeous all year Dazzling alliums are often called the firework flower. In every shade of purple, from intense violet to delicate lilac, or even sparkling white, alliums are hard to beat for amazing tones and striking shapes. Allium flowers grow from bulbs and flower now. Handily, they can also be bought in pots as shooting and flowering plants that are ready to go, and perfect for popping straight in the soil. All alliums are brilliant for adding structure to the garden in the border or a pot, with huge, round flowers. Each one is like an explosion, some big, some small, at the top of tall, neat stalks. Plant an allium to flower in spring and it will come back next year and every year after that. They are incredibly reliable, easy-care plants. There are three main types – the spiky pompom headed varieties, drumstick alliums with oval-shaped heads which tend to flower later (from July), and edible alliums, better known as chives, with an amazing onion flavour. Like most early flowering bulbs, the green leaves are low down on the plant and they do all the hard work to feed the bulb before the flowers burst open. This makes alliums super-easy to use anywhere in the garden as they can be popped into gaps amongst other plants. They mix readily with lots of different flowers, hovering above their next-door neighbours like purple pom-poms. In a pot, alliums work well on their own but they are also good companions for other flowers, bringing a bolt of vivid colour and keeping their lollipop shapes much later into the year. When winter arrives and the plants die back, the spherical dried flower heads will still look attractive in the garden, or can be cut to take indoors to make interesting displays in vases and jugs. 3 of the best for growing in pots ALLIUM ‘EARLY EMPEROR’ Beautiful bi-coloured flowers. £9.99 for 5 plug plants www.vanmeuwen.com Edible pom-poms of colour KNOW YOUR ONIONS The leaves and flowers of chives are ready to eat from July. Snip leaves from the base. The more you cut, the more they will grow. ALLIUM SPHAEROCEPHALUM The drumstick allium has pretty purple flowers with a sweet scent. £4.30 www.ashwoodnurseries.com Loved by bees ALLIUM ATROPURPUREUM Delicate maroon flowers with shining gold centres. £5 www.hillviewhardyplants.com 56 MODERN GARDENS APRIL 2017
EASY IDEAS GIANT ALLIUMS The tallest variety, allium giganteum, can grow more than 1.5m (5ft) high. MAKE IT! DID YOU KNOW... Onions, garlic, shallots, leeks and chives are all part of the allium family ALLIUM FLOWER BUTTER Chives are the allium you can eat. Chop the stalks finely for salads. The fresh flower heads, are edible too WHAT YOU NEED ✽ 250g butter ✽ 8 chive flowers ✽ Freshly ground black pepper WHAT TO DO 1 Soften the butter in a bowl, using a wooden spoon. 2 Carefully pull the florets from the chive blooms and add them to the butter. Add 5-6 twists of black pepper. 3 Lay out a piece of baking parchment and place the herby butter in the middle of it. Wrap it up to make a cylinder. 4 Remove the parchment and wrap the butter in clingfilm. 5 Pop it in the fridge for an hour. Slice to use. It will keep for a week, or freeze. WORDS: LUCY BELLAMY PHOTOS: ALAMY, FLORA PRESS, GAP PHOTOS – CLIVE NCHOLS/NOLA STOCKEN, LIVING4MEDIA, STOCKFOOD, WWW.PLAINPICTURE.COM ➣ APRIL 2017 MODERN GARDENS 57
Page 1 and 2: MODERN GARDENS I APRIL 2017 I ISSUE
Page 3 and 4: SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Turn to pages 80 &
Page 5 and 6: How we did it... READER GARDEN 4 TH
Page 7: EASY IDEAS 4 BUILD A SHELF A simple
Page 11 and 12: REPAINT THE front door for an insta
Page 13 and 14: EASY IDEAS TRELLIS TRICKS Painted p

Modern Gardens - April Digital Sampler

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