Alliums are in the same family as garlic, onions, chives, and shallots. This makes gardeners wonder if they should include them in their ornamental gardening plans, as it conjures up images of supermarket produce. But because good garden designs are often made up of different shapes, Alliums rounded blooms make for high drama and interest in the garden. The Allium group gets more popular annually, from over 300 species to choose. They amaze everyone, and few plants create this kind of wow in the garden. We will be adding many new varieties shortly. Allium giganteum, commonly called giant onion, is perhaps the tallest of the ornamental onions. It is a bulbous perennial which produces a basal rosette of grayish-green, strap-shaped leaves. From the center of each basal rosette rises a thick, naked, 3 ft. to 4 ft. tall scape (stem) which is topped in late spring by a dense, globular, softball-sized, 5 in. Dia to 6 in. Dia cluster (umbel) of tiny, star-shaped lilac-purple florets. Leaves and scapes smell like onions when bruised, but plant is not used for culinary purposes. Leaves begin to die back as plants begin flowering.