New England
October, 2007
Regional Report
Books
Garlic, Onion, & Other Alliums
Whether you're first and foremost a flower gardener or a vegetable gardener, this book will tantalize. Garlic, Onion, & Other Alliums, by Ellen Spector Platt (Stackpole Books, 2003; $19.95) has something for everyone: plant lore, medicinal uses, growing instructions, craft projects, and recipes. By the time you're finished poring over it, you'll swear you can smell the aroma of chives.
Favorite or New Plant
Drumstick Allium
I'll never be without drumstick alliums (Allium sphaerocephalon) in my garden. Their purplish blue flower heads are smaller than most ornamental alliums, at about 2 inches in diameter, but they still make a wonderful showing if they are massed. It's hard to imagine how their thin stalks that rise about 1-1/2 to 2 feet high can support anything, but in flower they happily sway in the strongest breezes. They come back year after year without declining, but I find a new place to plant some every year anyway.
