Allium garden 2009 remembered

[TheOnionMan]

Today it was sunny with high temperature of -11 C, with stiff winds and 30 mph gusts for a windchill of -25C.  In spite of the conditions, I ran 6.25 miles outside (must meet my "1000 miles in 2009" running challenge), with icy roads and windswept snow.

With these frigid winter conditions, I like to reflect on the past season, in particular remembering "the allium garden" (who has one, let's see a show of hands) with its prepossessing pastel cacophony of blooms able to cool the sultry hot dog-days of July and August in steamy New England, USA, summers.  A few photos ensue:

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Very nice Mark !! 
You definitely have'nt stolen your nickname.. 

[Onion]

Mark,

it must be a dream to stay in your garden in the summer months.

Open days in 2010 

[olegKon]

Fantastic pictures, Mark! Thanks for sharing.

[Stephenb]

Wonderful shots. How big is your Allium garden, Mark?

With only two days left in 2009, how many miles have you got left?

[maggiepie]

Wonderful display, I'm glad I don't have to dead head them all.

[Maggi Young]

Helen.... it seems Mark doesn't deadhead them.... this pic is his from another thread (weather) :
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4422.msg126596#msg126596


 I really think they are more strikingly beautiful in the snow than in flower!!

[TheOnionMan]

Wonderful shots. How big is your Allium garden, Mark? 

Hmmm, I've never measured it... approximately 35m x 20m, but of course I also have alliums scattered about here and there throughout the yard.

With only two days left in 2009, how many miles have you got left?

6 miles left.  It's been tough because mid November I lost 2 weeks of running due to flu, finding myself 50 miles behind schedule.  In the last 5 weeks of 2009 I needed to make up those 50 miles, plus my normal scheduled mileage.  This morning will be my final victory run, making 137 miles for the month of December.  Today it is sunny, -10 C, and no wind... should be a nice run.  I'll be thinking of my favorite things while running, alliums, good wine, and a post-run victory toast of delicious Fonseca port.

Stephen, look at my Facebook "Notes" tab for 2009 monthly running totals and the December 2009 daily running detail.

[TheOnionMan]

Wonderful display, I'm glad I don't have to dead head them all.

On the rare and desirable sorts, I try to collect seed.  But as you can see from Maggi's reposting of my "snowy allium bobs" photo, I often don't get around to deadheading until I do a spring cleanup.  But as I'm focusing in on Allium hybridization, and with most everything in this particular garden dedicated to Allium, I don't worry too much about the wealth of self-sown seedlings. In fact, some of the better "surprise hybrids" have resulted from such spontaneous seedlings.  But you're correct, the task of deadheading (and pulling out all of the persistant dried flower stalks) that many alliums is a huge time-consuming one.

[maggiepie]

Maggi, I agree, they look wonderful capped with fluffy snow.

Mark, I am only just starting to get interested in alliums, chives are all I have had up until recently and the new ones are only seedlings at this stage.
Seems to take me forever just to deadhead my chives, I do that mostly so I can eat them.
I have noticed my chives seed everywhere.

[TheOnionMan]

Thanks for all the nice comments.  Completed my challenge today (running 1000 miles in 2009... 1,609.34 KM for those not in the US), had my celebratory glass of port, and a glass of cream sherry to boot, and find myself at the computer once again reminiscing about the Allium Garden in days/years past. It is interesting to see the photographic journal of a garden as it passes through nearly a decade of change.  Here are a few more memories:

[Lesley Cox]

The last of Mark's first batch is particularly attractive I think, the little cottage (shed? sumer house?) with the alliums in flower.

[Lesley Cox]

Helen, I remove the flowers from my chives too but earlier, into bunches of flowers for the house, though they're very pretty on the patch of course. If you take some as flowers there aren't so many to deadhead later.

[Diane Whitehead]

I have no seeds.

My chives and Allium cernuum flowers all get eaten in various salads.
Devilled eggs and potato salads in particular look festive with the pink
and purple flowers.

Addendum:  Going back and looking at the pictures again, I think maybe
I should eat fewer and let more go to seed.  Big clumps are so
decorative.

[maggiepie]

Lesley, when I grew chives in Oz, they grew so slowly and usually fizzled out. Here they grow into huge clumps. I dug up a clump a few years ago and stuck the clump under a tree ( temporarily) it is still there and going through its 3rd winter.

Diane, cheese and chive bread is very good too although the flowers don't get used for that.