About this product
Full description
Anyone who's grown alliums knows the small annual sadness of the season ending. The dramatic mauve drumsticks of Allium 'Purple Sensation', the architectural pale globes of A. cristophii, the candy-pink puffs of A. roseum — they put on the most spectacular display in May and June, then fade through July into the dried seed heads that, if you leave them, can hold the form right through into autumn. After that, they're gone for another nine months. Until next May.
These are an extension of that pleasure. Hand-made steel allium heads in your choice of colour, mounted on slim steel rods at approximately the same height as the real ones. Tucked amongst your real allium planting in summer, they fill the gap when the real heads fade. Through autumn and winter — when the borders are quiet and bare — they continue the structural rhythm of the spring planting, in colours you've chosen.
From LV Bespoke, our trusted Norfolk maker — supplied in your choice of colour finishes, made to order in their own workshop. Allow 7–10 days for delivery as each head is hand-finished individually.
What they are
Each allium head is a hand-shaped steel sphere — finished in the colour you choose, mounted on a slim mild steel rod that pushes into the soil amongst your border planting. The result is a year-round version of an allium that looks at home alongside the real ones in early summer and continues the visual rhythm when the real heads have gone over.
- Hand-crafted — each head is made individually rather than mass-produced, so no two are exactly the same. Head sizes vary slightly between pieces
- Mounted on H600mm mild steel rod — sits at roughly border-height amongst medium perennials
- Available in a range of colours — to match your real allium planting, your wider border palette, or simply your taste
- Made to order — please allow 7–10 days for delivery while your pieces are made in the LV Bespoke workshop
Why they earn their place
Real alliums are amongst the most loved cottage garden bulbs — for very good reasons. These steel versions extend their virtues:
- Year-round structure — particularly valuable from August onwards when real allium heads start to fade. Steel heads give you the same architectural form right through the dormant season
- Winter colour — when borders are at their quietest, a small group of brightly coloured allium heads gives the eye something to settle on. Particularly lovely against frost or snow
- Fills the gap in mixed plantings — if you've planted real alliums amongst perennials and grasses, the steel versions hold the visual rhythm when the real ones disappear
- Doesn't need feeding, watering, or planting at the right depth — push the rod in where you want one, and that's the work done
- Survives the slugs — properly. Real allium emerging shoots can occasionally take damage; these don't
For dedicated allium enthusiasts (we know there are several of you out there), they're a small year-round acknowledgement of a much-loved plant.
The bundle of three
Alliums look properly best in groups rather than as single specimens — and we offer a meaningful discount when you buy three (£35 for three vs £15 each = saves £10 on the trio). Worth thinking about for two reasons:
- Visual logic — three allium heads at slightly different positions amongst your planting create a visual rhythm. A single piece can look isolated; three together read as part of the planting
- Colour combinations — you can match colours (three of the same for a unified statement) or mix (our Mixed three-pack gives you one each of Deep Pink, Blue and Purple for cottage-garden border interest)
For larger borders, five or seven pieces in slightly different colours can be properly lovely — the same logic that applies to planting real alliums in odd-numbered groups.
Where they look loveliest
- Amongst your real alliums — particularly clever to plant the steel ones with the real ones. In May–June the real ones do the work; from July onwards the steel ones quietly take over
- In a mixed perennial border — at 600mm high, they sit nicely amongst medium-height perennials like hardy geraniums, salvias, asters and nepeta
- In a gravel garden or prairie-style planting — alongside grasses and umbellifers, where their architectural form complements the surrounding airy planting
- In containers — particularly large pots with mixed planting, where they add vertical interest year-round
- In a winter border — when the real perennials have died back, a group of steel allium heads is one of the most charming pieces of structure you can have
- Against frost or snow — properly photogenic. Worth specifically choosing a colour that contrasts well with white if winter impact is what you're after
- In a child's garden or a play area — they're durable, colourful, and tactile (children genuinely love them)
Colour options
Five colourways available, each in single or three-pack format:
- Purple — the closest match to real Allium 'Purple Sensation'; works beautifully amongst spring purple planting
- Blue — cooler than purple; reads as a properly garden-friendly blue rather than an artificial shade
- Deep Pink — bolder than the real candy-pink A. roseum; reads as a confident punctuation in cottage planting
- White — the architectural option; gives the cream-white drumstick effect of A. neapolitanum or large white drumsticks year-round
- Mixed three-pack — one each of Deep Pink, Blue and Purple; properly distinct rhythm for a single border position
Pairing with real allium seeds and bulbs
The steel heads work particularly beautifully alongside real allium planting. If you're building or developing an allium border, our seed range can help you grow some of the species from seed:
- See our cottage garden seed collection for allium species suitable for cottage-garden border planting
- Real alliums planted in autumn (October to November) for next year's flowering, alongside steel allium heads that hold the line through winter, gives you genuine year-round border presence
- For dedicated allium enthusiasts, a planting plan combining real bulbs with steel heads in matching colours is a properly clever way to extend the season visually
Specifications
- Brand: LV Bespoke (North Norfolk artisan maker)
- Material: Mild steel, finished in chosen colour
- Height: Approximately 600mm steel rod plus head
- Head: Hand-crafted steel sphere; circumference varies slightly between pieces (a feature of the handmade nature, not a fault)
- Colours available: Purple, Blue, Deep Pink, White, or Mixed three-pack
- Pack sizes: Single or three-pack (Mixed only available as three-pack)
- Bundle pricing: £15 single / £35 three-pack (£10 saving on the trio)
- Lead time: 7–10 days from order — each head is made to order
- Use: Outdoor garden — amongst planting, in containers, as year-round border structure
- Made in: North Norfolk, UK
Looking after them
Unlike most LV Bespoke pieces, these are finished in colour rather than supplied as raw steel to rust. So care is slightly different:
- The colour finish protects the steel from rusting in normal use — these are designed to keep their appearance year-round outdoors
- Wipe clean occasionally if dirt or bird-mess accumulates on the heads
- Bring inside or store covered for the worst weather if you'd prefer to extend the life of the colour finish — particularly worthwhile for lighter or more delicate colours
- If the finish does eventually weather after several seasons of full exposure, the underlying steel will rust gracefully like the rest of the LV Bespoke range — so they age into a different but still considered look
Other LV Bespoke pieces
The wider LV Bespoke range carries the same Norfolk-made character — pieces age beautifully alongside each other:
- Single decorative stakes — Single Glass Stake, 3D Orb Stake, Bird & Insect Stakes, Butterfly Stakes
- Grouped cluster pieces — Cluster of 3 Glass/Marble, Cluster of 5 Marbles, Cluster of 5 Feature Glass, Cluster of 5 Cups or Balls
- Functional stakes — Bee Drinker (Cuppy), Bird Feeding Stake
- Sculptural surface pieces — Decorative Crown, Bespoke Marble Steel Crown
- Functional kit — Aeonium Stem Plant Support, Garden Edging
See our complete Garden Decor & Ornaments collection for the full LV Bespoke range.
About LV Bespoke
LV Bespoke is a small family business based in North Norfolk, hand-making garden features in their own workshop. They've exhibited at RHS shows and Gardeners' World Live, and were commissioned by the King's estate at Sandringham in 2022 to create a "Sea of Crowns" installation as part of Sandringham In Bloom — properly serious provenance for a small Norfolk maker. Each piece is made by hand in their workshop, designed to do its job quietly, age gracefully, and look like it belongs. We're proud to stock their work; objects with this kind of character don't come from factories, they come from somebody's careful hands.
A small thought: the gardening pleasures that earn the deepest loyalty are the ones we want to extend — to look at longer, to enjoy beyond their natural season, to bring back somehow when they've gone. Real alliums are one of those. These small handmade steel versions are a quiet way to keep that pleasure visible right through the year. The kind of object that suits gardeners who love their plants properly.
What's included
- 1 x Allium Head (Single variant)
- 3 x Allium Heads in chosen colour (Three-pack variant)
- 3 x Allium Heads (1 each of Deep Pink, Blue, Purple) for Mixed variant
Care and use
- Wipe clean occasionally if dirt or bird-mess accumulates
- Bring inside or store covered for worst weather to extend colour finish life
- If finish weathers over several seasons, underlying steel rusts gracefully