The name Allium is from the ancient name for garlic, which is part of the genus. There are estimated to be around 700 species within the genus, and many cultivars. There are perennials and biennials. Many members of the genus give themselves away with the distinctive smell of onions when the bulb or foliage is bruised.

Characteristics of Purple Sensation – Allium hollandicum

- A fall planted ornamental onion bulb, will produce purple flowers.
- This flower is sure to turn heads with its 4-inch wide globes of tightly packed pink-purple florets which sit at the top of a tall, thick, bare stem.
- In summer it bears umbels 8cm (3in) across of 50 or more star-shaped, deep violet flowers.
- Contact with bulbs may irritate skin.
- They are great for ornamental value and widely used for both landscape and cut flower purposes.
- The Allium Purple Sensation is ideal for containers, mass plantings, borders, and cut flowers.
- These plants are rabbit, squirrel, and deer resistant.
- The Purple Sensation has a bloom period of about 3 weeks and they bloom in late spring to early summer.

How to grow Purple Sensations

- Flower bulbs should be planted at least two and a half times the height of the bulb.
- They should be far enough so that they do not touch.
- Frost should be avoided while rooting.
- When planting in grass areas mowing should not take place until the
leaves have died off (about six weeks from planting.)
- Do not tie up or knot the foliage as this cuts off food supply.
- Plant in groups of ten or more for an eye catching focal point.

Basic Requirements to grow Purple Sensations

- Soil should not be too wet.
- Soil should be well drained but should have good moisture retention as flower bulbs are not deep rooted.
- Plant bulbs 5-10cm (2-4in) deep in autumn.
- The ideal PH level is approximately 6.5.
- It grows well in full sun or partial sun.
- The growth rate is moderate.
- Fertilizer is not essential but a dressing of a high potash and phosphate fertilizer may prove beneficial.

Photos of Purple Sensation on Flickr (link)
Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ (Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’) – Photo (link)
Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’ (detailed photo) (link)

Hyacinths are one of the “big three” bulbs in gardening interest (the others being tulips and daffodils) and these extremely fragrant spring flowering bulbs are worthy of a place in your bulb garden. Carnegie is a pure white hyacinth with a deep penetrating fragrance. Reblooms for several years. As an aside, the name comes from Hyakinthos – a young man accidentally killed by one of the Greek gods and from his spilt blood, this flower emerged.
The Hyacinth, ‘Carnegie’ ‘Hyacinthus orientalis’, a fall planted bulb, is one of the few all-white Dutch hyacinths, and this plant is the perfect contrast to brightly colored bulbs. The small, pure white flowers are densely packed on intensely fragrant spikes. Grow them for their graceful shape, long-lasting blooms and sweet scent. Hyacinths are great for indoor forcing, containers, and borders. They flower in mid spring for a 3 – 4 week period.
Hyacinths require a well-drained soil. If they must be planted in heavy soil, mix some sand into the soil. For the best effects, plant the bulbs in clusters of 5 to 15 bulbs of one variety, or scatter clusters throughout the garden or flower border. Prepare the garden bed by using a garden fork or tiller to loosen the soil to a depth of 12 to 15 inches, then mix in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost. Dig a hole 6 to 8 inches deep. Set the bulb in the hole, pointy end up, then cover with soil and press firmly. Space bulbs 4 to 6 inches apart. Water thoroughly after planting.
When planted in somewhat shady spots, the flowers will last longer than they would in the hot sun. You have a decision to make here. If you grow them in the shadier sections of your garden, the individual blooms will last longer on the bulbs in the spring as the hot sun does tend to shorten the bloom time. The downside to this is that the bulb itself will not thrive in the shade and will die out. If you need flowers for a special spring event, mass plant them anywhere you like and treat this bulb as an annual flower.
You can easily propagate new plants by harvesting the little offsets that develop on the older bulbs. After the plant is fully dormant, (late summer) you can dig the bulb and separate these small offsets. It will take these small bulblets 2 to 3 years to develop enough size/strength to generate flowers. You can also grow them from seed treating the seed as a perennial.
Wear gloves to prevent skin irritation. These plants are deer, squirrel and rabbit resistant.
If you want to force the bulbs to flower out of season, then you need to use a technique called forcing. To do this, heat-treated hyacinth bulbs, which are more expensive than normal bulbs, need to be placed in a dark place for several weeks to allow flower buds to develop. To make a flowering bowl, start by planting three bulbs of the same colour in individual pots. Almost fill an 8cm (3in) pot with moist bulb fibre, and then push a bulb in gently to half its depth. Put pots in a cool, dark place, such as a garage or shed for about ten weeks to allow the roots to grow. Check bulbs regularly and water if the compost feels dry. When shoots appear, wait until they are about 5cm (2in) high and arrange the three pots in an 18cm (7in) bowl. Fill the gaps with more bulb fibre and place in a light spot to flower. Keep compost moist. After flowering, bulbs will be exhausted and are best thrown away – you could add them to your compost heap, but make sure you chop them up finely.

The Anemone family is a large one, but it is Anemone Coronaria, or poppy-flowered Anemone, which is the gem of the fall planting selection. The common name for these showy plants is Wind Flowers, which refers to their soft, breeze-fluttered blooms that add movement and life to gardens. With contrasting centers and single or double rows of petals, wind flowers look like diminutive cousins of always popular daisies and are every bit as charming. Deeply cut, ferny foliage provides a refined accent.
These fuss-free bulbs are excellent for heirloom gardens and restoration projects.
Anemone bulbs have really unique shape. The flat side is upper and the pointed side is lower. Anemone Coronaria is an excellent subject for container gardening and is a reliable performer. These bulbs are great in flower borders as well. They are an excellent cut flower. De Caen anemones are also a good choice for a butterfly garden.
The best planting season is autumn. However, some species are not hardy for the cold climate. If you grow such spieces in the area, where the temperature reaches below 0F/-18C, plant them in spring. Anemones grow from tubers and must be planted round side down, about 2″ to 3″ deep. The rule of thumb for most bulbs and tubers is to plant them twice as deep as they are wide.
If you plant hard-dried bulbs in soil and let them absorb water abruptly, they get cracks on the surface, which may cause infection or getting mold. Therefore, pre-treatment is required. Before you head out to the garden to plant, soak your anemone bulbs for 2-4 hours in a cup or small bowl of water. This will encourage them to sprout faster and get growing.
Find a location where the soil drains well. If there are still water puddles 5-6 hours after a hard rain, scout out another site. Or amend the soil with the addition of organic material to raise the level 2-3 inches to improve the drainage. Peat moss, compost, ground bark or decomposed manure all work well and are widely available. Site your anemones where they will receive sun for all, or most, of the day. Dig holes and plant the anemones. Don’t worry about which side of the bulb needs to face up. After planting, water anemones well, thoroughly soaking the area. Roots will form in the autumn, followed shortly by the foliage. Flowers will develop in the spring.

Daffodils, the flowers symbolising friendship, are one of the most popular flowers exclusively due to their unmatched beauty. Daffodils belong to the genus Narcissus. Sometimes the word Narcissus is used for them. Narcissus is the Latin or botanical name for all daffodils, just as ilex is for hollies. Daffodil is the common name for all members of the genus Narcissus. Put another way, Narcissus is the botanic name for a genus of mainly hardy, mostly spring-flowering, bulbs in the Amaryllis family native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia. There are also several Narcissus species that bloom in the autumn.
The name Narcissus is derived from that of the youth of Greek mythology called Narcissus, who, in at least one of many variations of the tale, became so obsessed with his own reflection as he kneeled and gazed into a pool of water that he fell into the water and drowned. The legend continues that the Narcissus plant first sprang from where he died.
There are a great variety of daffodils avaialable, so how many are there actually ? Botanists differ, but there are at least 25 species, some with a great many different forms, and several natural hybrids. In addition to the species, the current printout of the Daffodil Data Bank lists over 13,000 hybrids which are divided among the twelve divisions of the official classification.
Daffodil flowers have a trumpet-shaped structure surrounded by a ring of six floral leaves called the periant set against a star-shaped background. Often the trumpet is in a contrasting color from the background. Though the traditional daffodil of folklore, poetry, and field may have a yellow to golden-yellow color all over, both in the wild species and due to breeding, the perianth and corona may be variously colored. Breeders have developed some daffodils with double, triple, or ambiguously multiple rows and layers of segments, and several wild species also have known double variants.
Daffodils are constantly recurring flowers. Where climate is moderate, Daffodils flourish among the first spring buds. In the United States, Daffodils are quite tolerant of cold, especially with a covering of snow, and are grown to the Canadian border. The only exceptions are a few tender cultivars, usually tazettas, such as the popular Paper White. Daffodils can also be grown throughout the South with the exception of parts of Florida which are free of frost. A cold treatment—natural or induced—is needed for flower bud initiation.
Daffodils grow well in zones 3-8, and need at least half a day of sun. They are not particular about soil type or pH. Most grow to a height of 10-18 inches.
* Plant in the fall before the ground freezes, but late enough that the bulb will not begin to grow.
* When deciding where to plant, remember that their little faces will follow the sun.
* Dig a hole three times as deep as the bulb is wide.
* Cover the bulbs with soil and tap down to remove air pockets.
* Don’t fertilize when planting. A little bone meal in the spring is all they will need.
Depth, as a general rule, needs to be thrice the height. This means large bulbs should have depth of 6 to 8 inches, medium size 3-6 inches and smaller size 2-3 inches. Always remember that the load of soil prove helpful to protect the bulbs from breaking too easily and keep them upright for a longer duration. If this fact is ignored and enough depth is not given then the Daffodil will bend down very soon. Though Daffodil blooms will come in bigger clumps, the bulbs and flowers will be scant.