False Garlic

Nothoscordum bivalve

False Garlic is a bulb for bulb layer, edging, suited to full sun to partial shade and clay or loam, flowering Mar, Apr, May.

Where to use it in a border

At around 30 cm, it sits best along the front edge, where a low, spreading habit reads best. Give it about 10 cm of room to spread, roughly 10 to the metre when planted in a drift. It is hardy across USDA zones 5a to 9b and rated H6 by the RHS, so check it suits your area before planting.

It appears in our lists of full sun, clay soil, pollinator-friendly plants.

Border Builder uses False Garlic's height, spread, soil, bloom months and companions to place it in a full border plan for your own conditions, on iPhone and iPad.

Flowering through the year

Worth knowing

• Not recorded as pet-safe; site it away from pets that graze if that matters to you.
• Its flowers are valued by bees and other pollinators.

Good companions

Plants that share its conditions and style, chosen to complement its place in the border:

• African Irisfor height behind it
• Allegheny Monkeyflowerto edge in front
• Allium 'Purple Sensation'to flower when it does not
• American Beautyberryfor height behind it
• American Cranberrybush 'Redwing'for height behind it
• American Elderberry 'Adams'for height behind it

Garden styles

Wildlife garden