During my years as executive director of the Columbus Botanical Garden in Georgia, I fell madly in love with the garlic chives in our herb garden. I’m not an herbalist or a culinary artist in the kitchen, but I am a butterfly lover and had just completed a stint as executive director of the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas.

Who would have ever thought garlic chives would act as a butterfly champion while being a kitchen delicacy? My question was: Could an ornamental onion or allium hybrid with landscape beauty do the same for pollinators? Serendipity has performed up to the task in every way.

Two years ago I grew Serendipity simply as a trial. Sadly, I didn’t give it much thought from the standpoint of landscape partners. It was shocking from the standpoint of bees and butterflies.

When the opportunity presented itself the second year, I gave it partners like Luminary Ultraviolet and Prismatic Pink phlox, Meant to Bee Royal Raspberry agastache, Truffula Pink gomphrena and even a colorful dash of chartreuse foliage courtesy of ColorBlaze Lime Time coleus.

Serendipity allium came roaring back from the winter, and I even planted more. I love the photos of gardens where they are clustered together and I did something similar, grouping mine around a blue glazed ceramic bird bath. But I also like these randomly planted among other perennials.

Year two brought more landscape excitement from the standpoint of combinations but also because a new group of butterflies found the nectar rich blooms. Georgia’s state butterfly, the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, not only placed it on the menu but seemed to put on a special artistic flight performance going from cluster to cluster.

So in two short years I have had a lot of butterfly observations: gray hairstreak, red-banded hairstreak, white M hairstreak, juniper hairstreak, Gulf fritillary, Eastern Tiger swallowtail and Eastern Black swallowtail. This clearly demonstrates the ability of the Serendipity ornamental onion to be an all-star when it comes to butterflies.

Serendipity ornamental onion is recommended for zones 4-8. It gets 15 to 20 inches tall with an equal spread. Fertile well-drained soil with plenty of sun will give you the green thumb. Space your plants 15 to 20 inches apart.

The flowers are called rose purple, but depending on the time of day, I see lavender pink in my garden. The blooms are globe-like but held sturdily atop blue green foliage. While it is a favorite with pollinators it is thankfully not on Bambi’s or Thumper’s menu.

This spring looks to be exciting with the addition of new ornamental onions by the name of Bobblehead. It will be 30 to 32 inches in height with a 2-foot spread. The pale lilac globes will size up reaching 3 to 3.5 inches.

Now to put on my Debbie Downer hat, at least for the South. If you think you are going to simply hop in the car this spring and go buy a flat of Serendipity or Bobblehead ornamental onions, it will be sheer luck.

If you see some, buy them immediately. If you are like me and have never seen one for sale, start sourcing your plants now. You can have them for spring planting and be in a state of euphoria with blooms, bees, and butterflies for summer.

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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)

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