When Europeans first came to America, they found a wealth of exciting plants. Some of the more botanically-inclined settlers harvested a vast array of seeds, bulbs and cuttings and shipped them back to Europe. Their European friends and correspondents were enthused, planting and propagating energetically. The newcomer plants—from goldenrod to native American magnolias—caught on, often garnering more admiration in the Old World than on home turf.
Camassia, sometimes known as quamash, camass or Indian hyacinth, was one of those plants. Discovered in the Pacific Northwest by the great Scottish plant hunter David Douglas, it arrived in England in 1827. It is fair to say that the Native Americans who harvested camassia bulbs prized the plant for its nutritional value rather than its ornamental qualities. In fact, Douglas’ notes on camassia pertain mostly to the flatulence-producing properties of the cooked bulbs.
Nowadays camassia is producing much less flatulence and much more good press—on both sides of the Atlantic. Up-to-the-minute English garden writers, like Sarah Raven, extol their virtues. The reasons are plain to see; the tall flower spikes provide garden interest in mid-spring, often in the horticultural trough between the fading of most of the daffodils and tulips and the beginning of the early summer bloom period. Each spike bears up to 30 individual flowers in shades of blue, blue-purple and white, which open from the spike’s bottom to its top. Though camassia has no fragrance, it makes an excellent cut flower, lasting well indoors. As with other spring-blooming plants, the leaves are ephemeral, dying away by mid-summer. It is useful to plant camassias near other ground covering specimens, like bigroot geranium—Geranium macrorrhizum—that will cover the fading foliage.
One of camassia’s common names—Indian hyacinth—is a clue to its family affiliation. Plant taxonomists have placed it in the asparagus or Asparaceae family, which is also home to hyacinths and ornithogalum or star of Bethlehem. A close look at the individual six-petaled flowers of each of the three species reveals a distinct resemblance. Members of the family also generally flower on naked stems and sport long, strap-like leaves.
The most common garden camassia is Leichtlin’s quamash or Camassia leichtlinii. The flowers are medium blue-purple, with the prominent yellow anthers characteristic of all members of the genus. For contrast, consider choosing one of the white-flowered leichtlinii varieties, like ‘Alba’. Add in lighter blue flowers, by investing in ‘Blue Heaven’—Camassia leichtlinii Caerulea ‘Blue Heaven’–a cross between the leichtlinii species and another species, Camassia cusickii. I have not grown ‘Blue Melody’, but it appears to have some of the deepest blue flowers of the commercially available varieties.
I have a romantic attachment to ‘Sacajawea’, a hybrid named after the courageous Native American woman who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their great westward exploration journey. One of the bulb sellers recounts a tale, which may well be apocryphal, of Sacajawea roasting quamash bulbs for Lewis and Clark. If true, you would think that the explorers might have noted the same kind of gastric discomfort as David Douglas. At any rate, ‘Sacajawea’ is a fitting tribute to an extraordinary woman and not only features white flowers touched with green, but white-edged foliage.
Camassia bulbs are rather large and should be planted about four inches deep and six inches apart. They do fine in normal garden soil, but are also very tolerant of damp places where some other bulbs, like lilies, might rot. Full sun is ideal, but the bulbs may also be planted under deciduous trees, as the flowers will appear before the trees are leafed out. Happy camassia multiply underground by bulb offsets, sometimes called “daughter bulbs”, and form clumps over time. As this process proceeds, you can rest assured that your blooming camassia and/or camassia bulbs will not be eaten by hungry deer or other varmints. No plant is completely deer-proof, but camassia does not generally appeal to the four-legged plant predators. Deer are not noted for their brain power, but perhaps they know something that David Douglas did not.
Some fastidious gardeners abstain from camassia because of the unattractiveness of the dying foliage. Even if you are of that mindset, you can still plant the bulbs in wildflower gardens, native plant landscapes, woodland areas and on the edges of ponds or other water features. The sight of mature camassia clumps reflected in water would be worthy of Monet.
In my experience, every garden needs more blue-flowered plants. If you feel the urge to indulge in camassia this year, there is still a bit of time. Local retailers may have some of the leichtlinii species available. Online retailers are trying to move merchandise by offering sale prices. One of the best is John Scheepers, 23 Tulip Drive P.O. Box 638 Bantam, CT 06750; (860) 567-0838; www.johnscheepers.com.