Elephant Garlic, Allium ampeloprasum, is sold at grocery stores! Did you know you can plant the huge cloves to produce flowers like those in the picture? Elephant Garlic is a perennial plant. It will grow and then come back and grow next year. Wow!
Elephant Garlic is closer to a Leek than a garlic. In cooking, it has a milder taste but does not have all the health benefits of regular garlic. This garlic produces “scrapes” which is the stem with the immature flower head. These are tasty and used in soups or sautéed and eaten like a vegetable. However, I grow them for the 4 foot tall, 4-5 inch in diameter pink flowers which are long lasting and gorgeous. Bees and other pollinators love these flowers as you can see in the picture. I just think they are the coolest plants in my garden this summer!♦
