Sweet Garlic

Sweet Garlic (Tulbaghia simmleri) is the plant to grow if you like the look of society garlic but not the smell of it. It makes a neat grassy clump about 50cm tall and 40cm across, and through winter and into spring it carries heads of soft purple and pink flowers with a genuinely sweet perfume. Frost hardy, drought tolerant and salt tolerant, it flowers at the time of year when most borders have nothing to offer.

Why you'll love it

• It smells sweet, not pungent. Unlike the common society garlic, this species is perfumed rather than oniony, so it can go beside a path or a doorway.
• Winter and spring flowers. Purple and pink heads appear when the rest of the garden is quiet, which is the hardest gap in the year to fill.
• Tough in all the right ways. Frost hardy, drought tolerant once established and salt tolerant, so coastal and dry inland gardens both suit it.
• Neat and evergreen. The strappy clump stays tidy at about 50cm without cutting back or staking.
• Bees and butterflies work it. The flower heads are a nectar source in the cooler months when little else is open.

Where it works best

Borders and edging. Plant 30cm apart for a solid border. At that spacing the clumps meet within a season and read as one continuous ribbon along a path or a driveway.

Mass planting. Use the same 30cm spacing across a bank or a wide bed, where the winter flowering is far more effective than a scattered few.

Rockeries and pots. The clumping habit and drought tolerance suit a rockery, a dry embankment or a 300mm pot on a sunny courtyard.

Growing Sweet Garlic in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the heaviest flowering, and it accepts light shade. This is a plant for subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, which is most of the settled country. It is frost hardy, so cold southern gardens are fine, and it is salt tolerant enough for a coastal block.

Soil. Free draining soil above all. It is not fussy about fertility and copes with sandy or gravelly ground, but the fleshy roots rot in soil that stays wet through winter. Raise the bed on heavy clay.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer to establish, then only in long dry spells. A light complete fertiliser in early autumn, ahead of flowering, is all it asks.

Pruning. Remove spent flower stems at the base and tidy any browned leaves. Divide congested clumps every three or four years in spring to keep the flowering strong.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in two sizes: tube stock, and 140mm pots sold in packs of ten. Tubes are young single crowns, the economical choice for a long border, and take a season to bulk up. The 140mm plants are established clumps that give you a fuller border in the first year and often flower in their first winter.

Strappy foliage travels well and a few creased leaves are cosmetic. Plant it out promptly, water it in, and expect it to settle within a fortnight. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read our guide to the most fragrant plants.
• Browse the full fragrant plants range.
• Compare coastal and salt tolerant plants.
• See more edging plant ideas.

Common questions

How is it different from society garlic?

Society garlic is Tulbaghia violacea, which smells strongly of onion when brushed. This is a different species with a sweet perfume, taller flower heads and a softer purple and pink colouring.

How far apart should I plant it?

Allow 30cm between clumps. Each clump spreads to about 40cm, so that spacing closes the gaps in a season without the crowns crowding each other.

Will it handle frost?

Yes. It is frost hardy and suits cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens. Winter wet is the greater risk, so drainage matters more than temperature in a cold garden.