Q How should I plant mixed ornamental allium bulbs in my garden?
A MATTHEW SAYS How you choose to plant them depends on what you want to achieve. If you’re looking for broad expanses of colour emerging from between clumps of perennial foliage, then the best way is to place the bulbs in big drifts, very deliberately, at 20cm-30cm intervals. If the aim is to create a more natural look, then throwing the bulbs up in the air and planting them where they land works well. Bear in mind that with this method you are allowed to move them if they land on top of an existing plant! There is another way to plant alliums, especially taller varieties such as ‘Mont Blanc’, which is as focal point plants to act as eye-catchers. In this case I would plant the bulbs in a clump of six or seven, 20cm apart.