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Chelsea Flower Show 2019: National Collection of Allium

May 22, 2019
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The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the pinnacle of the gardening year. Designers try their very best to impress the judges and public with their innovative creations.

But the flower show is also about showcasing amazing plants, sometimes rare, sometimes new but always grown to perfection.

The National Collection of Allium display included several small species that are perfectly suited to a rockery or for growing in troughs and containers. Allium nevskianum and Allium karataviense are native to the mountainous regions of Central Asia. Both are short in stature with large flower heads that are at their best in spring. Unlike many of the taller large-flowered alliums, A. karataviense has decorative, broad-leaved foliage that stays good at flowering time.

With colour fading from dark pink to white, the aptly named Allium ‘Cameleon’ and the pink form of chives, Allium schoenoprasum ‘Pink Perfection’ are the other two species that caught my eye. Like the first two they will grow well in full sun, in free draining soil.

Image of Răzvan Chişu Răzvan Chişu

Răzvan Chişu MCIHort, has had a passion for alpines since he joined the AGS aged 14. As a professional horticulturalist, he divides his time between garden design jobs, giving lectures and running plant hunting tours. His plant interests are diverse and wide ranging, from bulbs, to ferns, succulents and hardy perennials.