Chives are to the herb gardener, Spring's true harbinger, as they send up their leaf spears as soon as the weather warms up. I divided my main plant in early August, separating it into groups of 3 or 5 bulbs and the small grassy clumps that have formed from the division of bulbs have now put forth straight stems of rosy coloured flowers which are quite decorative and useful to pick to use as a garnish. However to keep chives productive over the summer, these flowers need to be removed and also, rather than snipping off the tops of the leaves, like a haircut, it is better to cut individual leaves off at ground level to keep the plants in good shape. I am using the chive plants as a border around my dwarf bean plants.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Onion Chives
Chives are to the herb gardener, Spring's true harbinger, as they send up their leaf spears as soon as the weather warms up. I divided my main plant in early August, separating it into groups of 3 or 5 bulbs and the small grassy clumps that have formed from the division of bulbs have now put forth straight stems of rosy coloured flowers which are quite decorative and useful to pick to use as a garnish. However to keep chives productive over the summer, these flowers need to be removed and also, rather than snipping off the tops of the leaves, like a haircut, it is better to cut individual leaves off at ground level to keep the plants in good shape. I am using the chive plants as a border around my dwarf bean plants.
That is a clever idea. I use miniature rain lilies as a border around taller flowering plants.
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