These are the alliums I planted last fall. They were pricey, but so worth it for their impact. This is “Globemaster,” the cultivar I have always wanted. It’s a big plant with a 3 to 4-foot stalk. Because it’s in the onion family, deer and rodents won’t touch it.
Globemaster lives in the bed where I used to have dinky little shrubs that didn’t even produce fruit or flowers. So, out they went.
Here’s a closer look at the cluster of flowers. They are pinker than they appear in the photo.
The alliums are a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing spring. I lost so many narcissus last winter, after planting several hundred around the property. The first spring they were gorgeous, but this year, almost nothing emerged. And the rock garden iris I had planted (Katharine Hodgkin) completely disappeared. I am not sure if it got too cold for some of them or whether the series of storms we had in March finished them off.
This is what remains in the bed; a couple of alpine plants and some species tulips.
I must say my scilla and crocus came up and flowered bravely. The crocuses were repeatedly buried by snow.
This is one of the narcissus I lost. It is called “Avalanche,” and I loved it because there were several flowers on each stem, and those flowers smelled divine. I would really like to plant it again, and will probably give it one more try.
Yet another loss: perennial geranium, “Azure Rush,” which I raved about last year because it’s bluer than Rozanne. Well, despite its supposed hardiness from Zone 5 to 8 (we are in R.I., where zones range from 5b to 7a, depending on how close you are to the ocean) Azure Rush has disappeared, too. So, I am not sure it is really hardy to Zone 5 after all. Either way, it’s a bummer.
I have heard from other gardeners that they, too, lost perennials and bulbs, so maybe I am not alone.
Digging RI 
Oh so sorry to hear about your plant loss, especially the geranium. Geraniums are such lovely plants – both leaf texture and blooms. Perhaps your plant dropped seed last year? We can only hope.
i haven’d done an intensive “crawl through” yet of my beds so perhaps I’ve lost some also. Here our Hydrangeas were hard hit and even more so by deer eating every bud. I was concerned about my 4 yr old plants from Fernwood Nursery in Montville Maine; a shade nursery not to be missed if you’re ever in mid-coast Maine area – west of Belfast off RT 3. But hurrah, they are robust and healthy.
I’m curious which source you use for your bulbs (scilla etc); I’ve been planting Scilla and Daffodills for the past 3 yrs with White Flower bulbs ?
Good to read your blog on this very rainy day; am enjoying a day to read and to gaze out my window at my staggeringly beautiful Viburnum double file in full white bloom- all 15 ft of it. .
Take care my friend. , GardenPest
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I love that Viburnum and intend to plant one here. I will definitely check out that nursery in Maine. We haven’t been up there for a while but we are due for a trip. I order most of my bulbs from John Scheepers. They have a huge selection and the bulbs are top quality. Sometimes I will also just grab a bag of crocus bulbs at Job Lot if I need to fill in a corner in the garden. I think at least part of my problem was planting bulbs that were only just hardy here. That’s why they survived their first winter but not last winter. I was getting complacent about our mild maritime tempertures.
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What a shame, DN. I can imagine how much you anticipated the spring return. It has been such a strange winter/spring. A couple of plants that I thought had completely perished made a surprise comeback. I’ve got my fingers crossed that some of your beauties will surprise you, too.
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I don’t think the bulbs will reappear, but as you know, gardening is often one big experiment. For instance, I have purchased a plumeria that I am growing in a container. I’ll be writing about that soon. Nice to hear some of your plants rose from the dead, though!
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