Tulbaghia violacea Silver Lace - Society Garlic

Tulbaghia violacea 'Silver Lace' is a variety that stands out with its grey-green evergreen foliage variegated with white and its abundance of small violet umbels that bloom throughout summer. This lovely bulbous perennial emits a garlic smell when crushed and forms a silvery carpet all year round. This plant is ideal for bringing light to borders, rockeries, and pots. It appreciates plenty of sunlight. It prefers well-drained, light soils that remain dry in winter.

Tulbagia violacea belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family. It is native to South Africa, more precisely the meadows of Lesotho and Swaziland, which have rather dry winters and rainy summers. It is an herbaceous perennial plant with a fleshy tuberous root that forms a tuft of thin, ribbon-like leaves, which are evergreen depending on the winter temperature. It offers a long summer flowering.

The 'Silver Lace' cultivar is a beautiful horticultural variety that blooms for a long time and has particularly bright evergreen foliage. It received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society in 2012. It normally develops into a spreading clump that widens over time through its rhizomes. The flowering plant measures about 60cm (24in) in height and 40cm (16in) in width. Its particularly long flowering period starts in May (depending on the climate) and only ends with the arrival of cold weather around October. In milder regions, it can flower almost all year round. Clumps of leaves emerge from the floral stems bearing false umbels of tubular flowers that open into 6-petalled mauve pink stars, streaked with a darker shade in their centre. The flowers emit a sweet honey scent, but it is overwhelmed by the garlic smell that emanates from the entire plant. They are followed by the formation of seeds that can self-sow. The foliage is thin, narrow, erect, linear, grey-green with white veins, but flexible enough to arch slightly. It is strongly aromatic with a powerful garlic smell perceptible from a few metres away in hot weather.

Tulbaghia is a beautiful plant appreciated for its prolonged flowering that lasts until autumn. It provides colour in the garden or patio during a time of year when few plants are in bloom. In a border or rockery, or even in a rock garden, it can replace agapanthus or be combined with them, choosing from the more compact varieties (Agapanthus 'Silver Moon', 'Golden Drop'). Its powerful garlic scent repels harmful insects such as aphids and also has fungicidal properties. This will be useful in a vegetable garden and orchard to protect carrots, lettuce, beets, and peaches. It will also be useful in an ornamental garden. However, you can plant it toward the back of the border if the smell is too much!

It is quite sensitive to cold, especially in moist soil in winter. In colder regions, you can cultivate it in a pot. It thrives outdoors in summer, exposed to light but without direct sunlight. It is a good seaside plant that tolerates sandy soils and sea spray. The most favourable climate for it will be a mild oceanic one. In hot regions, it will require regular watering in summer or it may die. 

You can use finely chopped leaves in your salads or even add a few flowers.