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Featured plant: Sicilian honey garlic
May 10, 2012
Sicilian honey garlic, Allium siculum subspecies dioscoridis, is one of the many alliums that’s popping up in the High Line’s planting beds.
The High Line’s planting design is inspired by the self-seeded landscape that grew up between rail tracks after the trains stopped running in the 1980s. Today, the High Line includes more than 300 species of perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees — chosen for their hardiness, adaptability, diversity, and seasonal variation in color and texture. Some of the species that originally grew on the High Line’s rail bed are reflected in the park landscape today.
This week we share with you one of our gardeners’ current favorites.
Allium is a genus of flowering plants commonly referred to as the onion genus. This group includes many common edibles that you might recognize, such as garlic, leeks, onions, chives, shallots, and ramps. All of these plants feature high concentrations of sulfur compounds which give them their distinctive taste, smell, and occasionally tear-inducing qualities. In this same genus are a number of ornamentals known for their architectural build and large spherical compound flower heads.
Sicilian honey garlic, Allium siculum subspecies dioscoridis, is one of the distinctive alliums you’ll find currently on view at the High Line. Atop a long stalk, you’ll find a head of tiny bell-like flowers of pink, white, and green.
Sicilian honey garlic is native to the Mediterranean, growing most commonly in damp and shady wooded areas. While it’s most common modern-day use is as a garden ornamental, it is also said to be used as a seasoning in Bulgaria.
WHERE TO SEE THIS PLANT
Between Gansevoort and Little West 12th Streets