VARIEGATED SOCIETY GARLIC (Tulbaghia violacea "variegata")

Society Garlic is a plant that has a lot going for it.  It is tough, pretty and you can even eat it.  A good plant to have in the garden!  This variegated form has white edged leaves so it also brings color contrast to the garden.  I have mine growing in a clay pot and it seems to do well there.

Society Garlic is native to South Africa where its leaves and flowers are used in Zulu cooking while they use the bulbs more for medicine. The flowers and leaves have a peppery taste and certainly the little purple flowers look very attractive in a salad along with giving it a garlic pepper taste.  This variegated Society Garlic is a cultivar that goes by the name Silver Lace.  I have only noticed this variegated type being used in gardens in Hawaii.The plant grows up to two feet tall with its thin upright leaves and a pretty group of small flowers on a slender stalk.  Here in Hawaii it is a perennial and flowers in the summer.  Each flower stalk lasts about two weeks with a new tiny flower opening every day on the stalk.  They do well as a cut flower indoors.  Sometimes you will get a slight whiff  of garlic smell as you walk past the plant.  This plant leaf does look rather similar to a variegated liriope (August,2017) but Society Garlic flowers are very distinctive as are its bulbous roots.  It is a hardy plant that likes light soil and can survive the hot dry days although water and a bit of shade in the hot summer afternoons will keep it happier.  A bit of trimming off of old leaves and flower stalks keeps it pretty looking.  Fertilizer will up flower production.

Aloha

PS July,  2024

I was astonished on a recent trip to Morocco to see the Society Garlic used on a grand scale in public gardens there.  Hundreds of clumps are planted out over big areas, sometimes on their own but also combined with tasseled grasses or lavender. They made a beautiful show.  It just shows that the landscapers there recognize its toughness under hot and dry conditions.  They were using the plain green leaf variety, not the variegated one I have in my garden.