I've posted two images of Allium caeruleum to the wiki. Take a look at: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… This is the poor man's blue-flowered Allium, and it is really a beautiful blue. The plants shown are second year plants (second year from the commercial source), and true to form (in my experience at least) the umbels are irregular and have "satellite" umbels popping out of them. Also, if you look closely, you may be able to see that the umbels are also somewhat bulbiferous. First year plants typically produce very regular umbels which are not bulbiferous. Evidently this one likes dry summer conditions; plants in the open garden rarely persist, but those kept dry during the summer do. That may explain why this plant - readily and inexpensively available and so beautiful - is not commonly seen in gardens in this area. The orange flower seen in one of the images is the perennial poppy variously known as Papaver atlanticum or P. rupifragum. The poppy and the blue allium are made for each other! Jim McKenney jimmckenney@starpower.net Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where most of the big ornamental onions are past their prime.