A Case For Camassia

Have you introduced camassias into your garden? No? Why not? I guess you haven’t taken me seriously when I’ve recommended that you start planting these good bulbs of North America. I promise you will be glad to have these natives in your garden.

Blooming in mid-spring, camassias bridge that transition from the early bulbs to late spring blooms beautifully. They come in shades of blue as well as a creamy white. A grouping of them is quite handsome but they also blend well with a mix of other plants. I particularly like how they mingle with the alliums, tulips, amsonia, baptisia and columbines in my perennial beds. The spires contrast well with the roundness of the alliums and the star bursts of amsonia.

In the meadow, camassia join the sea of blue created by ajuga and mysotis. The overall appearance is one of such gentle beauty that it is hard to imagine that so much activity happens in the meadow. The place teems with life. Butterflies and bees busy themselves here all day long. Parent birds forage for juicy morsels to carry back to their ever hungry babies. Toads await unsuspecting insects. Rabbits nibble on whatever greens suits them but never seem to do any visible damage. A neighborhood cat often suns itself on the stone bench kept warm by the morning sun. No doubt hoping to get at targets I’d rather not think about. The occasional garden snake rustles about quietly; its presence noted only by the hushed movements of the low-growing grass. I could sit here all day and watch the goings on.

But back to camassias. They naturalize well and do not beg for coddling. Suitable for both formal and informal gardens, they are in my opinion a no-brainer. Get them this year for fall planting. Don’t make me tell you again.

Camassia

True blue natives
for food and form
Echoing colors
of seas and skies
Spreading nicely
from forest shade
to open prairies
to rocky ties.

From quivers of green
shoot Indian arrows
Piercing early
verdant blankets
Sustaining tribes
across western fronts
These bulbous offerings
make a banquet.

– Shobha