Allium cernuum – Wild Nodding Onion

An excellent plant for the rock garden or front of a perennial border. Pale lilac-pink flowers burst forth atop stems that nod just before the flower cluster, a form that is unique among wild onions and gives rise to the common name. Native to dry shaley and rocky forested slopes, bluffs, barrens and woodlands over most of North America, though in New York it’s found mostly in the Southern Tier.  Easy to grow, it’s drought tolerant once established and will tolerate light shade, but will be its showiest in full sun.