Plant of the week: Chives

Chives always give you a double whammy: Beautiful, purple mini-lollipop flowers on thin, flavoursome stems. I'd grow these pretty perennials even if I didn't use them for eating.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Apr 2010, 15:52 BST
Updated 23rd Apr 2010, 15:52 BST

They serve as an attractive edging for beds, brighten up the vegetable garden in early summer and are easy to grow in well-drained soil with added organic matter. Also, you can propagate them easily, dividing clumps in spring or at the end of summer with a fork and replanting them in the soil.

Plant your pot-grown clumps in late spring or summer and water them in and weed when necessary. When the leaves are long enough they can be harvested.

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The onion-flavoured leaves can be used in salads and dips. Take a few stalks from each clump to ensure the plant still has plenty of flowers. The main variety is Allium schoenoprasum, but there are also white chives (A schoenoprasum 'White Form') and garlic chives, which, as the name suggests, have a slight garlic flavour.

YP MAG 24/4/10