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Border Patrol June 26 2009
Of The Seasonal Walk Saga

By Tovah Martin

To Reign of BrillianceTo Perennial PaletteTo Naturalistic CompositionTo Bulb Beat Goes On

Bulb Beat Goes On

Bulb Beat Goes OnThe big news at this juncture is one of the less brazen bulbs. The border will undoubtedly urge many gardeners to give Allium sphaerocephalon another look. Running throughout the border, planted in a quantity of one thousand bulbs to make a statement, this drumstick allium gives the border its beat.

Just like the Narcissus ‘Little Gem’ was an underlying theme, the drumstick allium rolls above the scene, providing continuity, floating along, and bridging the heights of the perennials with the lilies above. Meanwhile, the lilies continue to go strong, with Lilium henryi (50 were installed) matching the color of Helenium ‘Moerheim Beauty’ exactly.

And, for those who look closely (and isn’t this all an exercise in intimacy with nature?), the foliage of Lilium ‘African Queen’ matches the leaves of Actaea simplex ‘Brunette’. Simultaneously, Anemone coronaria ‘St Brigid’ is providing an underpinning while all the oxalis are also rampant. As for love at first sight – for all of us who haven’t waltzed with Roscoea cautleoides before – prepare to be seduced. And the rapidly bulking-up dahlias promise plenty of headlines for the future.