Alliums

Ahem...lovely.
Sir Bear of the North Welsh Woods....
We Witches of North America know that dandelions are a wonderful food and very good for you...but we have no need to cultivate them..they cheerfully grow like mad and we have learned to eat them....
Now...perhaps you have misunderstood about the red lilly beetle..and the bulbs...I did not say that I ate the bulbs or the beetle..I quite clearly told you that the red lilly beetle does, however, eat the bulbs and stem of allium and other bulbs...so...since I had to take so much time clearing so much up...
I am not sure I have time to tell you how much I love the stars allium and the fireworks one....
I need a dandelion now to go make a wish with...I need to connect with my inner child...

very nice, I grew Christophii for the first time this year and loved them, although I had planted them in the wrong place, which will be remedied for next year.
I think the last picture I will definately have in my garden next year LOL

Very good blog Sir Whozit! I like all your photos but I like the Christophii the best. I saw one of these flowering this year for the first time and I love it.
As for the dandelion.....well, North American witches know the magic of the dandelion clock. And....the goodness and strengthening properties of the leaves and flowers. Besides, when the game is in short supply and we can't find a moose or bear to eat then we have to subsist on something!! LOL

Really good selection!
I love the Schubertii ~saw it in flower at Malvern ,it was sensational!

Well worth waiting for, GF. Thank You very much !!

I did "clock" that last one, nearly spat out my mouthful of dandelion and burdock juice (really).

Great close-up pics, yes, "fireworks" is a great description, and beautiful shots of the Painted Ladies.

Now, with the help of a wizard or two, I shall preserve your wonderful blog forever in the pages of the GOY Encyclopedia. So nice to have one on the ornamental/rather than the edible types. Sorry, the dandelion doesn't qualify, haha! :-)

A very interesting blog, Gf. I think my favourites are the Schuberts (one for the want list, then).

Regards your comment about the seeds - yes, they do self-seed - I have more alliums than I have planted becuase they have self-seeded - but it does call for some very careful weeding, as the seedlings look just like little blades of grass! The seedlings seem to have only a short growing period in the spring and then die back and vanish once again until the following year, so they are not too intrusive really.

I have chives...you don't seem impressed Sir Bear(?). I Haven't tried to grow any others. We have wild Camas here. They smell like onions if you disturb them, same family I think.. They were a staple food of the Native Americans. Are the wild garlic that Arlene's Harvey and Merlyn enjoy lying in in the woods related to Allium?

As for the lowly dandelion, I, myself, have not actually eaten them, those fuzzy things on top make me sneeze. But I do grow my share of them so if anyone would like a salad or a bouquet, come on over!

Hi there
I think they are the same family although I think that there are slightly different versions growing in different parts of the country~slightly different flower heads etc.I think the general name is Allium Ursinum.
We had some bottles of Dandelion and Burdock when we were away recently~have you tried that ?fantastic!

Weeds - there's an advert on TV in the uk at the moment - (can't think what it's for - mobile phones or credit card I expect!) but it's got Bob Dylan singing Blowing in the Wind and shows dandylion seeds floating up and away and through other far-away countries. It's rather nice I think! And it got me wondering now far they travel in reality - can they cross oceans? Could a dandylion in my garden have come from a seed from a plant in your garden? Makes you think doesn't it..................

Arlene, Dandelion wine? I haven't tasted it but my neighbor who makes wine for her family made some a few years ago and they drank it before it even aged. :-)

Hi Sid, Lovely thought isn't it? If I find a particularly healthy one in my yard I will name it after you. "What a lovely dandelion you have," people will say and I will say, "Oh yes, isn't it, that's Sid from across the sea." :-)

Oooh, you've reminded me of a big bag of allium bulbs that are still languishing in my shed that I bought about a month ago and never got round to planting due to family probs. Must get them in - yours are lovely, I'd love it if mine came up like this.

I like alliums too. I let them seed and wait to see what comes up. Siculum are good at seeding, they shuffle sideways. My garden goes through its Allium phase then sulks after that till the geraniums get past the debris. As a lot of plants are sharing with apple trees and pear trees. they have to make the best of it. Lily beetles are horrible and they have uncouth habits in their life cycle. They are pretty but I love crunching them when I catch them at it. Not sure they chew alliums? Do they like onions I wonder? Lily beetles shred leaves on the lily family to ribbons and the poor things look so unhappy
They free fall through leaf axils to get away from probing fingers and stamping feet. Good job they are bright red.I wonder why?

Dorjac - Thank you for visiting my site and your most interesting comment. Your comment prompted me to add two more photos to the blog today numbered 9 showing an expired Schubertii and 10 showing a Schubertii seed. I wonder what Queen Catfinch did to the Lily beetle she found in my garden if she didn't eat it?

I suspect the Lily beetle is red because red is a warning to predators. My non-serious response would be that Lily the Pink was sung (1968) by the Scaffold a comedy group from Liverpool, the beatles come from Liverpool, the Liverpool football team play in red and GOY member Lily2 is very dangerous; she chops up plants with her bread knife you know.

Had it been a pink beetle or a purple beetle I might have eaten it..but not a red one..even we cats know better than that..we don't eat yellow either ..just so you know.
Of course now that you, My Knight, have brought up the Beatles..I could never think of ever eating a red beetle..not even if I were starving!

My bread knife is bigger than Lily2's..but I would never use it on a dear plant.
There are loaves of bread that should fear for their life as it slices so nice...mmmm...yum...where is that bread knife..? Oh no..my bread knife...is gone! Lily 2!

Very fond of Aliums, loved the pics look forward to seeing this years.