Behold the ornamental onion!
Yes, the common name for poor old allium sounds like something out of an old Monty Python movie, or one of those Cartoon Network shows at the slightly wackier end of the spectrum. What could the ornamental onion be, if not a satirical device for making us question the devotion we show to false idols?
Well actually, it also serves as a particularly novel, pretty addition to a springtime bouquet as well. It may be closely related to spring onions and leeks but you’d never know from the regal baubles that typify a flowering allium. They’re dainty in the way the tiny petals cluster, but there’s also a kind of architectural strength to them - sitting atop stiff, slender stalks they don’t seem at all precarious, just perfectly positioned to survey all around them with its 360 swirl of colour. Behold the ornamental onion!
