Daily details from the garden to bring you inspiration throughout the year
Icy blue Camassia cusickii
May is camassia time, and if you’re lucky enough to live near a garden where they’ve been planted en masse, you’re in for a treat. While there might just be an argument for enjoying a single snowdrop or bluebell, the prettier cousin of your kitchen garden asparagus really is better experienced in large number, where the individual spikes of star-shaped flowers in blue or white merge into a haze. If you’re a bit clever, like the folk at RHS Wisley, you can plant different varieties to extend the season from early May right into June – the early flowering Camassia leichtlinii subsp. suksdorfii being relieved of duty half way through by Camassia cusickii. They like a moist soil and can be naturalised in grass – but as with many bulbs in grass, be prepared to put up with the leaves long after the flowers have gone. It’s the price you pay for a glorious transition from spring to summer.
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Hello! I’m Andrew, gardener, writer, photographer, and owner of a too-loud laugh, and I’m so pleased you’ve found your way to Gardens, weeds & words. You can read a more in-depth profile of me on the About page, or by clicking this image.