Nodding Onions

Day 140
The Daily DuBrule

I am a sucker for Alliums. I just simply love the genus and everything in it. I am presently harvesting and eating garlic scapes and giving them away to anyone who expresses an interest. I am enjoying Allium shubertii and Allium cristophii in my gardens. I snip chive and garlic chive leaves for my salads. I probably have an Allium in bloom every week of the growing season. 

When I heard about Allium cernum and realized that it was a northeast native plant, I had to have it. I gave it a place of honor in my courtyard, right by the steps that I perch upon to have my coffee. It rises above a generous patch of Sedum 'Bertram Anderson' and sits in front of my favorite peony 'Nancy Nora', pale pink and sweetly fragrant. Ms. Nora is just finishing her blooming cycle, with the secondary buds opening nicely just as the nodding onion is living up to it's name. The nodding buds are a joy to watch unfold.

I could spend hours photographing this plant from every angle. I won't do to mix it in a jumbled border. It must be placed where the motion and flow of the dangling stems pop against the neighboring plants. I even leave the seed pods on for a good long time afterwards as they are architectural and any free self-sown babies I get as a result are welcome. Oh, and did I mention that both the florets and the leaves are edible?